Vampires and Moebius and Plot Twists! Oh My!
by StreetLightFade
Summary: Takes place during Soul Reaver 2. A girl from NY ends up in Nosgoth and meets/annoys the Soul Reaver. Not your typical love story. I took some creative liberties since some of the plot is very hard to write in! Please enjoy!
1. The Adventure Begins

Ok, so I don't own Raziel or any Soul Reaver Legacy Of Kain character! The only thing I own is Vera (and trust me, no one else would want her but me)! Again, I know I took creative liberties in the story. Please try to deal with it but if it's really hard for you I suggest you don't read it! I know how things really unfolded in the game, trust me, I just was having trouble and the way I wrote it was easiest and least confusing for me! I respect opinions and criticism just not overly mean "advice." Thank you and please enjoy!

"Ok, I am officially bored out of my mind!" I turned away from the window of our new- but crappy – house, tired of looking at the same green grass and blue sky that was Nosgoth. Don't get my wrong, I liked nature, but I was forbidden to leave the house and after a month of pretty landscape that you can never TRULY enjoy, it starts to feel like it's mocking you. "Why did we move here anyway?! And how?! Last thing I remember, an old guy I've seen you guys talk to like once a year came in, told you we HAD to leave, then stared at me in some pervy old dude way! Who was he and why did he make us leave?!"

"Vera," My mom started, narrowing her eyes in aggravation, "You ask this every time you get 'bored out of your mind.' And we always tell you…" She drifted off, waiting for me to finish, her darkened brown eyes staring expectantly at me.

I crossed my arms over my chest, then exaggerated my imitation of my mother to a high pitched screeched, "He's an old friend, this place is safest for the time being and he was NOT staring at you in 'some old dude pervy way'…Even though he was." I rolled my eyes, then went over to the deep blue couch in the middle of our living room, sitting beside my bitch of and older sister, Lily, which I never would've done had it not been for the TV in front of her.

"You're so annoying, Vera! It's not like it's THAT bad here! No school or any lameness like that! And it's only until that old guy comes back, so it's not like we're in Nothingsgoth forever!" Lily flipped her blonde hair back snottily, a disgusted look directed at me on her dumb, perfect face. And by perfect, I meant perfect.

My family was the most perfect group of people in the world. Mom had smooth, shoulder length blonde hair and soft brown eyes. She NEVER had a bad hair day in her life, let alone a bad make-up day, zit day, etc…She always looked perfect, like Lily. My Dad had short, always groomed light brown hair and baby blue eyes that turned icy whenever he was angry…They did a lot when I was around. Lily, as I said, inherited Mom's perfect complexion, hair (except her's was longer) and supermodel body.

And me? I got muddy brown hair, random dark blue eyes and a pale complexion so the zits I got stuck out like one of those houses that has Christmas decorations up in July, and as a sixteen year old girl, I got them A LOT.

"You know what?! Screw this! I've been stuck in this house for, like, a month and I'm sick of it! I'm leaving!" I snarled and walked to the door, my hand around the doorknob, glancing back one more time to see my family glaring back.

"No, you're not. There're dangerous things out in Nosgoth at night and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you meet them!" My father snapped, coming down from upstairs at the exact moment I started shouting.

Perfect timing.

"I thought this was 'the safest place for us.'" I air-quoted, scowling, and before they could respond, I stomped up to my room and slammed the door. I hated that they always ganged up on me!

I sat up in anger and frustration for a couple of hours (I was always filled with energy, which was part of the problem). All I could do was bounce a ball against the wall, fuming silently until everyone in my house was asleep.

It was time to put my plan into action.

Quietly, (or as quietly as possible- I tripped over my backpack and smacked my head on my desk) I put a few pairs of clothes, my iPod, a blanket, water and snacks in my backpack, then snuck down the stairs and out the door into the semi-darkness (Nosgoth never went completely dark).

I was finally free from the house! I looked around at the green I could never actually touch and suddenly felt more comfortable. Reaching down and running my hands through the cold and slightly damp grass, I wondered, what was my dad talking about when he said dangerous things were out here? I saw thriving trees to my right and left, not close enough to be considered a forest, but enough to keep the landscape from becoming barren. As I said, Nosgoth never went completely dark, but just enough to see a few dim stars in the night sky. The only complaint I had about the outside world was that it was a little chilly. I wrapped my arms around myself in a hug, preparing for my long journey. All I knew was I was VERY grateful I'd brought my purple sweatshirt.

After walking around for about an hour of beautiful landscape that stopped being beautiful after about twenty minutes and became very monotonous, I could feel my body starting to shut down and my throat getting dry. I stopped and took my backpack off, digging around until I found my bottle of fresh spring water. The first sip was like heaven and I couldn't wait to drink more, but before I could enjoy another, I was interrupted. From the corner of my eye I caught two huge shapes getting closer and closer.

I squinted to try and get a better look at what was coming toward me…And I still had no idea.

These things looked like giant dogs on steroids with rabies. They ran on all fours and were bulging with muscles, with glowing red eyes that were narrowed into slits. Their noses were crinkled and their teeth were bared, with white foam flowing from their mouths. I could hear growls coming from their lips.

So obviously, I was scared shitless.

I screamed and chucked my water bottle at them, which I knew wouldn't do crap AND wasted all my water but I was terrified. I ran like hell back in the direction I came from, hearing their panting getting closer and closer behind me. I could feel my heart pumping, and I knew I was going to run out of stamina soon, due to my month of being trapped inside the house without any real exercise. I gave up on life altogether, knowing I was as good as dead.

"I don't wanna be ripped apart by rabid dogs! My dream death is dying in a freak roller coaster accident mid-arm wave to the camera!" I was practically bawling, babbling to no one in particular when I realized I was no longer being chased. I turned and realized I was face to face with the back of a dude's head.

Wait…was it an actual guy? His hair was like a normal guys; black and cut short in the back, and he had this brown scarf around his neck, probably covering half his face - it was pulled up high and he was naked. I mean, there wasn't much to see, being that his body was literally a walking skeleton…only blue. His feet were just two pointy toes and his hands were three claws, his wrists wrapped in what looked like mummy wrap.

All in all, I didn't care what my savior looked like, as long as he was, well, saving me.

The dogs were distracted by this skeleton dude, realizing he was more of a challenge than a weak little teenager. They started to growl louder until one of them lunged at him.

The guy moved quickly, waving his right arm until a kind of bright green sword appeared from now where, seeming to engulf is arm. He jumped on top of the one while it was in mid-air, decapitated it, then jumped to the other who was still grounded, stabbing it through its back until it stuck out through the creature's chest. It gave one last yelp before the skeleton guy withdrew his weapon. The man's sword arm disappeared and from the bodies of the dogs bright white lights appeared, floating in round shapes until the skeleton man opened up his scarf a little, drawing the bright lights in until they disappeared.

"Whoa." Was all I could say, my mouth hanging open in shock. What had just happened?

The blue dude didn't even look at me; he just kept walking in the opposite direction. Sorta rude, but maybe he was anti-social. I could change that.

"Hey, wait up!" I yelled, chasing him until I was right next to him, staring into his face…er…whatever you'd consider white eyes surrounded by black; the rest of his face was covered by his brown scarf.

His eyes widened and he stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. "Yeah…um…You saved my life. Thanks." I said awkwardly, waiting for him to stop staring and actually say something back. Instead, after a few more minutes of curious staring, he shook his head and walked faster, trying to get away from me. "Hey, wait! What's your name?"

I ran to him again, getting VERY annoyed but maintaining composure. I stopped directly in front of him, then shoved my hands out, touching his cold bone chest, partially covered by the scarf, the rest, blue ribcage.

His eyes widened in disbelief, first staring at my hands on his chest, then up at my face again. He looked like he was contemplating something, probably thinking Id leave him alone if he actually talked, and his chest rose a little, as if he was taking in air in preparation to speak. "I am Raziel." His voice was surprisingly smooth, kinda calming even though it was tinged with impatience. Sure enough, he sidestepped me and kept walking farther and farther away from me like I had a disease. I gritted my teeth in annoyance but continued to chase him, not giving up that easily.

"I'm Vera. I'm sixteen aaaaand I almost didn't get a chance to be any older than that, but thanks to you, I'll live another day. And I wanna make it up to you by saving you, like you did me."

Ok, this wasn't _exactly_ true. I saw Raziel kick those gigantic things' asses and knew I needed that kind of protection. But what he knew wouldn't hurt him, right?

"I have dealt with you long enough." He stopped finally, his fists clenched and shaking, his blank eyes narrowed staring into mine. "How are you not afraid of me?! I have killed hundreds upon hundreds of little girls just like you! I am not some kind of human, who saved you because I felt guilty to let you die! I killed those creatures for my own personal gain!"

"…Diiiiid you know when you shake your head like that when you talk the two pieces of hair almost framing your face bounce?" I hadn't heard a word he'd said, distracted by his amazing hair.

His eyes widened again in disbelief as he tilted his head to the side in confusion. Then, they narrowed a second time. "What was that?"

"I said-" I started, but before I could repeat myself, he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air. I flailed in panic, realizing I was close to dying again. "Let…go!" I tried to say, but he only gripped harder.

"I told you I could kill you, and I will if you don't leave me alone! You're lucky enough I got what I needed from those beasts." His glare drifted from my face down to my dark purple sweatshirt and then to my tight jeans, then his eyes returned to normal but he looked confused again. No that that mattered. He hadn't let go on my throat yet and I was sure I must've been turning the same shade of blue he was.

"Let…me…go!" I choked out and he loosened his grip a little but still held on, which didn't help at all.

"You are a very curious creature…Where is it you come from? Your clothing suggests anywhere but here and your lack of fear for me…I don't understand it…unless…Where you come from things…that look like me…are common?" His head tilted to the side again curiously, which I found kind of cute the first time, but now that he was holding my throat, I didn't think it was so adorable.

"Let…go…and…I'll…tell…you!" I gasped like a fish out of water and finally, he dropped me on my butt to the ground. "Ow!" I shouted then scowled at him, but told him what I promised I would, all the while rubbing my throat, "I live…lived in a place called New York…It's LOADS better than this boring green flatland, that's for sure…Then some pervy old guy with an eight on his head told me and my family we had to move then…I don't know, we just ended up here." I shrugged bitterly, getting up and wiping the dirt off my jeans, scowling down at the ground.

"Eight…You mean a sideways infinity symbol?…That could only be…Moebius?! What could he possibly want with you?" Raziel pondered, suddenly sounding more interested in me, for once talking to me like I was a person. "Perhaps having you with me will come of use…"

Wow, well I guess that old dude was more popular than I thought. And I guess Raziel is pretty interested in him. And I ALSO guess that because Moebius is interested in ME, Raziel is, too! Man, I am good! And because I knew that, I also knew I could get more out of this situation now. "Weeeeeell, I don't know. If you're so into me being away from you, I should just go." I turned and made like I was going to start walking in the opposite direction, but he grabbed my arm, a lot lighter than when he had my throat. His claw was as cold as his chest bone had been, and I had to admit, the three sharp talons that were his fingers felt kinda weird, but I was really enjoying the sudden attention.

"Wait…Come with me…" He cringed a little, "Please." He was obviously uncomfortable and annoyed to be saying these words to me, but I happily realized he meant them.

"Ok. Under one condition…Can we camp here for the night? I've been up for a while and I'm tired as hell!"

"…What?" He asked, his eye almost twitching in annoyance, drawing his hand back from my wrist.

"Hey, you're the one that thinks I'll 'be of use' buuuuut I won't be of use with no sleep! So let's stay here!...Unless you'd rather have me leave…" I put my hands on my hips with a little smile, knowing I'd won.

He glared for a few seconds, then looked down as his awesome hair covered his face from my view, "…Fine. But we wake up early tomorrow morning, no exceptions. You've delayed me long enough."

"What important place would a walking blue skeleton have to be?" I snapped instantly feeling anger building up in my chest, annoyed with his talking to me like I was an irritating animal again.

"If you must know," He started, ignoring my insult and not even bothering to look at me, "I am going to see a vampire by the name of Janos Audron. He will answer some vital questions for me."

"Vampire?" I asked excitedly, feeling my eyes light up. "They exist? That's sooo cool! Are they like Edward Cullen? Or are they jerks? Are they handsome? Jeez, my dad said there were monsters outside but I thought he only said that to keep me in the house!"

Raziel looked confused, then shook his head, not bothering to try and comprehend what I'd said, "Just…Go to sleep. I don't want to waste any more time."

I sighed heavily, my questions unanswered. He seemed pretty stubborn about this and even though I reeeally wanted to know, I'd already got him to stop for the night, and I knew even that was pushing it, "Ok…Fine." I took the blanket out of my backpack, then lifted my sweatshirt over my head and curled it into a ball, lying down with it as my pillow. "Goodnight, Raziel. You seriously HAVE to tell me about vampires in the morning…if I wasn't so tired I'd ask now…" I said while yawning, my tiredness catching up to me.

I faded off into sleep before I could hear his response.

**Raziel**

I was filled with anger and annoyance when that small but loud girl finally shut her mouth.

Honestly, I had no idea how I avoided killing her; it was very difficult. But, if she was essential to Moebius, I wasn't going to pass up a chance to be ahead of him in some way. I knew the old man was tricky, and as a Time Streamer, who could appear in whichever time he wanted, I already was a few steps behind. Moebius did not want me to figure out my destiny but wanted me instead to remain a slave to the Elder God, a being who raised me from death and wished me to fully submit to his will…I was no one's slave, but the three of us had a common enemy…

After I had left the untrustworthy Moebius' retreat, I was on a quest to find out my mysterious fate. I had planned on going it alone. Unfortunately, this was not the case anymore. Even so, this Vera, in some small way, made me want her to be around me…Why was this? I wondered in surprise, then came up with a few logical possible explanations:

First, I was becoming weak and wanted socialization no matter who it was…Though that seemed unlikely…Even since I'd become this…thing I'd preferred to be alone.

Second, she was not afraid of me. She looked at my disfigured body as if it were normal.

Third, sleeping, the girl looked peaceful, quiet, almost…cute?

What the hell was wrong with me? I was being unreasonably pathetic. This feeling was strange; one I had not felt in all my years of life…or death. It had to be due to the fact that I had not had an actual conversation with a human in centuries…It could not be anything else.

I looked over at the 16 year old again. Strands of her long, straight dark brown hair were in her closed mouth. Without even thinking, I reached out to move it out. I froze, stared from my distorted claw to her pale, soft face and instantly became angry.

"This is not me." I spoke aloud, disgusted with myself, "Damn…" I shook my head, then turned away from her and scowled off into the grass covered landscape of Nosgoth until morning.

"Mmm…" I heard a groggy voice and turned around, almost forgetting about the teenager behind me, completely lost in my own thoughts, which ranged from Moebius' time portal, which had sent me to this time, the past, to Kain, a vampire whom I was out to kill. The whole reason I jumped into the portal in the first place was to chase him down. It was useful to be in the past for more reasons than one, however. At this time the infamous vampire Janos Audron was still alive. I knew he had answers I sought about my mysterious future, and it was an added bonus to chase down Kain as well. Though dragging along this girl might make things go slower.

"Ahhh…" Vera stretched her arms in the air, then she looked at me, eyes half closed, hair in knots. "Hey, Raz, did you sleep at all last night?"

Raz? No one had ever called me that name…Why did this girl have to make me feel this way? This emotion must be immense annoyance. That's all it could be. "Don't call me that." I snapped, irritated by her stupidity. "And no, I do not need sleep."

Her large blue eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. "That's…so…COOL!" She hopped up and put her purple sweatshirt back on over her red camisole, suddenly rejuvenated. "So, about the vampires-"

I cut her off, sensing that if I let her talk, she wasn't going to stop anytime soon. "We need to get to Janos Audron. Save your needless prattling for another time." I started walking, impatient to get to the vampire and also slightly annoyed at the feeling I could not seem to figure out.

"Well excuuuuuuse me! Maybe you should get some sleep every once in a while if your gunna be cranky all the time!" She threw her backpack over her shoulder, glared at me, then rubbed at her eyes. "It's soo early! If you're gunna be like this the entire day I'm listening to my iPod."

"i…What?" I asked, grudgingly curious. I turned and watched her dig into her bag and pull out a small, white object.

"Music player. Nyaaaah!" She stuck her tongue out at me and put little cords into her ears, "Now I can drown out your negativity with THIS!" She pressed a button on the device and I heard a clicking noise. Suddenly and without warning she burst out into song…if you could call it that, "If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain, if you're not into yoga, if you have half a brain, if you like makin' love at midnight by the dunes of the cape, then I'm the lady you've looked for, write to me and escape!"

Though the lyrics and tune were irritating, I found Vera's singing voice to be…nice. I suppose in tune is a better description… The singing went on for about five minutes as we walked, and I resisted the urge to stop her, knowing that would lead right back to her talking to me about vampires and due to my unpleasant past as one of those vile creatures, I was in no mood to explain, as it would undoubtedly come up.

"Raz, how long is it gunna be? I'm seriously booored. Like, bored enough to talk to YOU with your neagtiveness…ness." She took out the cords in her ears and placed her music player into her bag again.

"See that?" I motioned to the giant mountain in front of us. From where we were, the castle that Janos lived in looked smaller than a cottage. I saw Vera squint at it, then her already large eyes got larger. "THAT far?! Awww, maaaan! AND I gotta climb a mountain?!"

"No. There is a trail twisting around the mountain we can walk. Here." I walked along the base of the mountain until I saw the beginning of the dirt path. I looked back at Vera who now seemed relieved, then I started up the trail.

"Why would ANYONE build a house on top of a mountain?! That's, like, the ultimate in anti-social. And what about if he wants to get groceries…eerr…food? He's gotta run all the way down this path, into some random village and then grab someone, run 'em all the way back here, drink their blood, then get rid of the body…Maybe he's worried about his weight so he wants to burn the calories? Still, a human can't have THAT many-"

"He's got wings." I interrupted before she could go off anymore. Honestly, the things this girl comes up with…If I hadn't killed those dogs before they killed her, I wouldn't be dealing with her now…And even if she HAD survived the dogs, something else would've gotten to her by now…She was so weak, so unprepared so-

I heard a slight cracking noise from above me which distracted me from my thoughts. Strange…I did not know the cause of this, unless some rocks from the top had broken from the mountain and were tumbing down…In which case they'd land…right on top of me.

"Raz, look out!" Vera screamed, throwing her hands out in panic and fear.

Stupid me. If I had taken the time to move, instead of thinking the entire thing out, I wouldn't be getting crushed by rocks right now…Wait a minute…Why wasn't I being crushed by rocks right now?

I looked above me. The large, round rocks were above my head, as expected, but they weren't moving. What was happening?

"Uh…Raz?" I heard Vera's voice, which was quiet for once and turned to see her. The look on her face was one of wide-eyed wonder. She was staring down to her hands, which were still out but were glowing a bright blue. "What…what is this?" She asked, looking back up at me.

I was as unsure as her about the whole thing. "I do not know…My only guess is that you could be sorceress…Although that is highly unlikely, because if you were a sorceress…Your powers would have more than likely developed at a younger age…Unless someone put a seal on your magic…Even so…You are not from Nosgoth…You are human born…But Moebius is invested in you….Hmm…Until we find out some answers, make your powers scarce. Only use them when you have to, alright?"

I looked up at the teenager to find her beaming at me with the snout of a pig. Had she listened to a word I said? I shook my head and continued up the hill as the rocks fell behind us.

"Hahaha!" She laughed at my reaction, snorting between each breath. "Ok, ok, I heard you, Raz." She touched her nose again and it returned to normal. "This is just soo cool! I'm not just a plain, average girl anymore! I'm like you!"

I cringed a little at her comparison. No, she did not want to be like me. I had to resort to killing things and sucking out their souls for sustenance. I was different from humans, alright. They hated me, every one of them. Terrified I was going to kill them, they joined together to try and kill me every time I entered a village. It was _then_ that I had to kill them. I did not fit in with humans or vampires…I was a disgusting wraith, feeding off of the souls of the dead…but at least I had free will. No one could strip me of that.

"Wow…using my powers really makes me tired…" I heard Vera say drowsily from behind me. "I think I'm just gunna rest a little before we get to Janos'…Is it ok if we go a little slower? I don't think I'll be able to walk AND talk at the same time for very long…"

That was alright with me.

The trail's dirt path reminded me of the Nosgoth I knew, from the future. This was the past, and that meant it was before the time of Kain, my enemy for many reasons. Here, it was green and beautiful and balance was restored to the land. I noticed the pillars were off in the distance…The Pillars…Each pillar represented a different element of society and each also had a Guardian. The most important Pillar of the five was the Balance Pillar. This Pillar was what kept Nosgoth this green and beautiful. However, the Balance Guardian was murdered and Kain was the one chosen to be the next Balance Guardian. To balance out the murder with a willing sacrifice would keep the land thriving. However, Kain refused to kill himself for his own selfish reasons. The Pillars collapsed and Nosgoth becomes a barren wasteland of death and destruction.

Vera had no idea how lucky she was to be in this time. I did not know why Moebius placed her here, but there had to be a reason, and I was going to find out…Even if she did not know herself.

When we got to the top of the mountain I was surprised at how short the time seemed to go by…It must've been because Vera, who was getting paler and paler as the trail continued, had stopped talking.

Using her powers had sucked the life out of her momentarily, which should be expected for a new magic user. Still, I could not believe that Vera, a sixteen year old, weak, immature, unintelligent girl would suddenly be given powers…Her powers were unlocked when she tried to save me…I had heard that, like an adrenaline rush, powers are released from the body when someone the person cares about is in danger…Vera cares about me…Hmm…I did not know how I felt about that.

"Vera, do you-" I started, but the doors to the large castle flew opened and a beaming blue vampire greeted us.

"Raziel! It's nice to finally make your acquaint-Oh! Hello!" He looked at Vera in slight surprise with another smile, then stuck out his hand. "I'm Janos Audron. It's a pleasure to have you at my home!"

Vera smiled back and laughed a little, and I noticed their hands were touching longer than a normal handshake. The feeling inside me let loose in unexplained anger. "I'm Vera."

"My, Raziel, the prophecy did not foretell of you bringing such a beautiful, young girl with you to my humble abode." Janos looked at me again, the huge, bright white smile still on his lips.

"Right." I was instantly annoyed by Janos' flirtatiousness with my…(my what? Annoyance? Aggravation?) Vera. It was because he was not taking my visit seriously…right? Of course. I had come here seeking answers and Janos was focused on the teenager following me around. "Janos, please give me some answers."

"Of course…Just…May I have time to speak with Vera?" He smiled again, and suddenly, I wished I had a jaw, so I could flash teeth like that and get the attention of…What the hell was wrong with me?!

"Yes. Fine. Sure." I sighed in frustration. I suppose I had all the time in the world with Janos. I just was not a very patient person.

**Vera**

"What? Why me?" I asked, confused, blushing a little. Janos certainly had a way with introductions. While Raziel ignored most of the things I said or did, it seemed like Janos couldn't stop looking at me.

But I was still in shock from the size of Janos' house, let alone the hospitable vampire who lived in it! It was gigantic, with stone flooring and gold covered dome-like ceiling. It had a giant wood table to the right, which only had two chairs and a chandelier above it and to the left of the table was a giant bush-like plant. On the stone walls were lots of candles that kept the place light and inviting. Straight ahead of us was a hallway that led even farther down into the huge castle.

"I have important things to discuss with you…If you don't mind of course." The tall, dark blue vampire looked into my blue eyes with his brown ones, politely waiting for my response. I guess you could've called Janos handsome. He had angel-like wings, but they were black, and his hair was black with tinges of gray near his ears. His clothes were more robe-like than anything else, and his exposed arms were muscular.

"Yeah, that's fine." I smiled again, noticing his was contagious. No one had ever given me so much attention before and I loved it.

"Come with me." He took my hand, and led me away from the wooden double door entrance. I took one last glance at Raziel to see his eye twitch a little, then he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

Once we were down the candle lit hall and around a corner, Janos let go of my hand. "Alright, Vera, I'm very sorry to have had to invade your personal space like that, but it is very important Raziel realizes how much you mean to him and I needed to…accelerate the process a bit." His blue skin glowed with a blush as he sat down on a chair that was against the wall and gestured me to sit in the one beside him.

What, was he talking about me? And Raziel? I thought he wanted to talk about my powers. Raziel didn't give two craps about me! "Raziel doesn't give two craps about me, Janos." I said with certainty, still feeling a bit drained from my use of magic, which reminded me, "You don't want to talk about my sorcery?"

"What sorcery?" Janos' eyes widened in shock and surprise as he looked at my hands, then up at my face for explanation.

"I used magic for the first time in my life trying to save Raziel from falling rocks. Raziel said I might be a sorceress. I didn't know it was real and I didn't know how I used it but it happened! Do you have any idea what went on?" It was worth a shot asking for Janos' opinion, the way Raziel was talking about him he seemed like the vampire Albert Einstein.

"Wow…This…This was never mentioned in the prophecy. Vera," He grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes again. "Your existence is very important. It could change the outcome of Raziel's very future. I am the guardian of the sword the Soul Reaver, and it is a big part of Raziel's unfortunate fate. Stay with him, no matter what, alright, Vera?" He closed his eyes and gripped my shoulders tighter "...You are a sorceress…and I can feel the seal on you. Whoever put it on you is a powerful sorcerer himself…You'll be able to use it when you most need it. Just…remember what I said about Raziel, alright? He does care about you, even though he does not seem show it. Watch him." He took my hand again and we walked back up the hallway. Raziel straightened up from the wall and glared at our held hands, then at Janos…Maybe the vampire was right…No, he couldn't be. Raziel only wanted me around because that old guy Moebius was interested in me. He said so himself.

"I apologize for the delay, Raziel. Now, where do you want to start?" Janos beamed at the scowling blue skeleton man, but before he could respond, the door was slammed open and six silhouettes stood before us. "No!" Janos hurled his hand out and Raziel went flying backward to the nearest corner and into darkness, out of sight from the six bulky shadows. "Behind the plant, Vera!" The vampire's eyes didn't leave the entrance where the six men stood.

I didn't want to leave Janos alone to deal with them, but the expression on his face and the way his voice sounded made me dive behind the potted bush without question.

"Men, watch a master in his craft!" A man stepped forward with a horrible machine in one hand and his other outstretched toward Janos, moving slowly and obviously relishing every second of the encounter.

The old vampire looked to the floor, then up at the man, his eyes blank. "Vera, don't make a sound." He said quietly, without turning. As he finished his order, the man ran at him slamming him against the nearby table, jamming the machine into his chest and ripping his rib cage apart. I gasped in horror at the sight of his large, beating black heart. The vampire's face was wretched with pain and agony, and he turned his head away from his open chest as his blue face turned grey.

"No!" I whispered, covering my mouth to not yell and obey Janos' last wish. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. My eyes shut tightly and I wished harder than I've ever wished before that what was happening wasn't happening.

Then, the evil, disgusting man ripped the heart out of my new friend's chest. I couldn't even believe it. The other five men whooped in victory as the first man held the heart up. "NO!" I screamed in aguish, and the men's voices were suddenly cut short.

"What was that?" The largest one asked, his voice sounding like there was no brain inside his head at all.

"I'll check it out, brother." Another shadow stepped forward, getting closer and closer to me.

I curled into a ball trying to stay hidden for as long as I could but sobbing hysterically and trying to stay as quiet as I could behind the plant, wondering why Raziel wasn't doing or saying anything. He didn't seem to like Janos but no one deserved the horrific death the vampire had just experienced!

"It's a…girl? Raziel, it's a little girl crying…What do I do?" I heard the man in front of me say, puzzled.

Raziel?! What?! I looked up to see a pale man, his head tilted to the side as he looked at me, his brown eyes swirling in thought. He looked like he was going to say something to me, then looked toward the horrible leader instead.

"Bring her here, Rahab." Yes! It sounded like Raziel! But…I looked to the dark corner Janos hurled my Raziel into and saw him throwing himself against an invisible force field Janos must have put up before he died, not trusting Raziel not to get caught. Guess I wasn't as important as him….Was it cuze I wasn't blue or something?

"Right. I just…haven't dealt with women…really…" Rahab started loud, then got quieter as he awkwardly reached for my arm. I wasn't going to let him get me THAT easy!

"NO! Y-you j-just k-killed my f-friend!" I hopped up and jumped back quickly, tears running down my face. I'd never had anyone die in front of me before, and it gave me a horrible feeling in my stomach that I hadn't done anything to help him.

"Look, little girl, we won't hurt you. We'll take you back to the castle with us…Girls like castles right?" Rahab crouched down and started walking closer and closer as I backed farther and farther away from him and closer to the back wall. "It doesn't even matter! We saved you from the most infamous vampire in history! Come with us now!" He was getting impatient and angry and so was I. This guy looked so full of himself, especially for not knowing anything about girls. And I knew he wasn't as nice as he was trying see, especially if he was friends with the jerk who just killed Janos.

"I'm a sorceress and I'll hurt you with my magic if you take a step closer to me!" I screamed and finally took a look at the other Raziel that had killed Janos.

He had the same hairstyle as my friend, but he was human, not a blue skeleton. His eyes looked cold and dark and he was smirking at me, still holding Janos' heart. When he heard what I said, he threw his head back and laughed loudly. "You?! A Sorceress?!" The other men laughed with him, including the loser Rahab who had stopped trying to grab me due to his large amusement in what I said.

"You won't be laughing NOW!" I threw my hands out at them, wishing them all to burst into flames, but all that happened was a red fire-like glowing on my palms. And "fire-like" wasn't good enough. "Poop." I sighed in disappointment, knowing I was beat. I expected to hear their laughter again, but instead, only stunned silence.

"Ra-Raziel…She doesn't lie…Did you see her hands glow like fire?" The dumb and biggest of the men looked astonished as he stared at me but before I could try to intimidate them with more sucky magic like pull a quarter out from behind one of their ears since my actual magic wasn't working (it'd be worth a shot!), I heard a small step in front of me. I turned just in time to see Rahab with his sword lifted over my head.

Then, nothing.


	2. The Sarafan Suck

Ok, so I don't own Raziel or any Soul Reaver Legacy Of Kain character! The only thing I own is Vera (and trust me, no one else would want her but me)! Again, I KNOW I TOOK CREATIVE LIBERTIES IN THE STORY (like Raziel not know he was a sarafan until now, etc, etc. It was confusing enough for a school friend to read this who didn't know Soul Reaver so I needed to back track a bit!) Please try to deal with it but if it's really hard for you I suggest you don't read it! I know how things really unfolded in the game, trust me, I just was having trouble and the way I wrote it was easiest and least confusing for me! I respect opinions and criticism just not overly mean "advice." Thank you and please enjoy!

**Raziel**

Janos had just sealed me into a corner after six men burst into his castle! Why would he not want me to help him?! And Vera… He had done nothing to help her. If she was beside me when he created the seal, she would be safe right now. Instead, he seals a strong, already dead wraith and leaves a small, loud, obnoxious and weak human girl unprotected. Not his best decision.

And who were these shadow men? The first of the six stepped into the light. Was that…me?!

The man had my narrowed brown eyes, my chiseled face before I became this horrid creature, my black hair…Yes, it was me. I knew I was in the past but…How far back in the past was I? I knew I was a vampire before my untimely death – I remember that life very well, but this me before me was…human! And the men that stepped in after him were my brethren!

It was true. Rahab, the sulky but smartest of the six of them, besides me, of course, with his short pitch black hair and pale skin, lips turned down in a scowl; Dumah, the largest and most unintelligent of the six of us was the strongest which was the only thing he really had going for him. His eyes were small and spread far apart, his lips thin but always smirking; waiting for a fight. The brother beside him was Zephon, the man who never took life or undeath seriously; Turel, the brother with the largest ears, who could most usually be found following Zephon around; and last, my youngest brother, Melchiah. Bald and, as a vampire the weakest of all of us since Kain made him last he rarely contributed anything to conversation but relished in killing humans…

My brothers and I from the past all wore armor, meaning that we must've been the highest honor of human priests, who were a constant war with the vampires, also known as the Sarafan. So they were here to…NO!

I watched in horror as my human self pried Janos' ribcage apart and yanked his heart from his body.

"The heart of darkness, brothers!" The human me shouted, and they all whooped in triumph.

No! No! No! No! This could not end like this! I slammed myself up against the seal, but it was no use, from the outside no one could hear me. Unfortunately, I could hear them.

"NO!" As if echoing my thoughts, Vera screamed out the word in such pain and angst I wondered if I was in the same position as the elder vampire if she would care so much…

"What was that?" Dumah asked stupidly, looking at the dead body of Janos Audron as if with his heart ripped out he could still scream, even though it sounded quite clearly like a teenage girl.

"I'll check it out, brother." Rahab started toward the plant Vera stupidly hid behind and stared at her cluelessly.

That was right. Rahab had never really been interested in or talked to women before. He spent most of his time reading books in his room, holed up until we all went out to feed. He never took orders from me well, always challenging me, but as the eldest and strongest of all my brothers, I made him pay in any way I could, from physically assaulting him myself to sending lies to Kain about him so that Kain punished him. I wondered how the human me was to him?

"I'm a sorceress and I'll hurt you with my magic if you take one step closer to me!" Vera dramatically screamed to the room as I panicked. No, no, no! Vera, the humans would've treated you well, maybe released you some where outside the castle after questioning, but now that you told them you're not one of them…They won't be so friendly, to put it mildly.

Good. They did not believe her…But wait, what was she doing?! That idiot girl! Her powers were weak and sporadic, of course they would not appear fully until she learned to control them! Instead, she gave them proof by a faint glow from her palms that looked like flame. That stupid girl had doomed herself.

As if on cue, Rahab starting coming at her with a large sword as she was staring from my human self to her palms in disbelief.

_Vera! No! _I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, not wanting to see her die. And right then I knew. It was not loathing I had for this girl, it was something a lot stronger. Something I had been in denial about because I had never felt it before in my life. I-

Wait.

I looked up to see Rahab standing beside Vera's body, a satisfied smirk on his face as he sheathed his weapon…But no, he hadn't stabbed her, he had hit her in the head with the hilt of his sword to knock her out.

Of course. My brothers and I could never resist a pretty girl, and this one was of little threat to them, they knew now.

"Come. Let us go back to the castle and show Moebius our victory!" My human self lifted the heart again and again my brothers cheered. "Turel, get the Soul Reaver from the back room! Rahab, bring the girl! I could have a lot fun with her!"

All my brothers laughed, except Rahab, who lifted Vera up awkwardly and carefully and carried her to the rest of them. Turel went down the hall Janos and Vera had went down minutes before and came back shortly, after the sound of breaking glass, with the Reaver.

My heart sank. As a vampire, I was known for seducing human women and having my way with them, then killing them and feeding from their bodies…I was a heartless bastard, with a large harem of vampire women as well. My clan of vampires was the most powerful and most cultlike of all my brothers' – they listened without question and brought me whatever I wished, which was usually the most beautiful women they could find…

I had hoped I was a more compassionate human, but watching the human me rip Janos' heart out without any remorse pretty much destroyed that hope.

The six left with Janos' heart, the Reaver and Vera as I slammed myself up against the dead vampire's force field in vain. Ten minutes after they left, the seal broke and I was free. Janos wanted them to be as far away from the castle as possible before he let me free, not anticipating Vera's likeliness to open her large mouth and get herself caught.

Anger flooded my entire body as I looked to Janos' body. Yes, the legends told of him being vicious and cruel, but the legend was obviously started by humans. The old vampire was very kind, and though he was quite interested in Vera, he showed the both of us compassion and patience, willing to help us with anything. And Vera…How dare they take what is not theirs? And if I think I'm going to let me lay one hand on her…Hmm…

I needed a plan.

**Vera**

"Is…is this heaven? Oh god, no! I'm in hell! I knew I shouldn't have watched Dance Your Ass Off every week and laughed at all the horrid dancing! But it was so addicting! And it made me feel so good about MY body! Noooo!" I yelled after opening my eyes and seeing nothing but darkness. I blinkd a few times and realized I was in a very small closet-like room with the door partially opened. It was a little damp and smelled like mothballs…

Ok, I wasn't in hell. My memories were coming back to me. That jerky jerk Rahab hit me with his sword, but the bottom of it. I guess I was glad I wasn't dead, but now I had a huge egg on my head. Ooooh, I love when I rhyme!

I tried to move my hands to feel the lump on my head, but my they were tied together. Great. My butt was about to fall asleep, too…

Suddenly, I heard yelling from outside the door getting closer and closer. I peeked through the crack but didn't see much, only Rahab looking supremely pissed.

"Raziel, you've gotten every girl you've ever wanted! You know I've never been interested in any other girl until now! Just let me talk to her!" He snarled to his brother and I saw his eyes dart quickly to me, then he looked away. Though the rest of the door was keeping me from seeing the human Raziel, I could tell he wasn't that affected by Rahab's yelling by the way he smugly talked.

"Look, Rahab, we're priests. We aren't allowed to marry. So I can enjoy whatever woman I please as long as I continue to devote my life to the slaying of vampires. You think you're in love with this weak little sorceress? Well all the more reason for me to take her! You're not allowed to love in this position you're in, you know that!"

"I do NOT love her, brother! Something about her just makes me want to save her from YOU!"

"Let her decide, then. You know who they always choose, Rahab." I could hear the sneer in the human Raziel's voice and almost felt bad for the other brother.

"…Fine." Rahab's voice was a mix of bitterness and frustration, but he walked to the door I was behind and dragged me out without looking at me.

At first, the brightness hurt my eyes and I had to blink a few times to get used to the heavily lighted huge room. Along the walls of the room were statues of each of the brothers, as if they needed any more of a confidence booster…And **I** didn't want to see six MORE of those jerks! I noticed just behind Raziel there was an entrance to a hallway. I tried to see how far the hallways stretched on, and if it would be worth it to make a break for it, but Rahab yanked me to attention. I was gunna say something nasty to him, but his brother interrupted before I could even think of an insult.

"Girl!" Raziel pointed at me with a large smirk on his dumb face. Wow, did I appreciate his nice greeting and polite introduction. "If you could be questioned by either myself or Rahab, who would it be?"

"Raziel, this is ridiculous! Why don't we ask Moebius to decide who she goes with?" Rahab snapped quickly before I could even open my mouth.

"Moebius left for some meeting or another. Let the girl decide." Raziel smirked again and looked at me like he would a juicy steak…Speaking of juicy steak I was starving! But, thoughts of food would have to wait, because they both were staring at me now, waiting for my answer….Hold on a sec…did they mention pervy old dude?

"First off, my name's Vera, not girl. Second, I don't know. You guys both killed Janos Audron, but considering Raziel number 2 actually did the killing, I choose Rahab. Even though he did smack me over the head with the bottom of his sword." As I finished, I couldn't help but notice that Raziel had such a look of shock and anger on his face as his fists shook violently. I rose an eyebrow at him, wondering why it was such a huge deal and why there was such a competition between the two brothers when there were four more they could argue with.

"Fine. I'm headed to my chambers _when_ you change your mind." Human Raziel stomped off in the opposite direction of us, up the large staircase. When he reached the top, he took one last look back to glare at his brother. Wow, what a baby!

"You…you chose…" Rahab looked shocked as well, then shook his head and scowled again. "Why were you up in Janos Audron's castle? Did he capture you or did you choose to go there?"

"Thanks for the wonderful greeting." I scowled sarcastically, but continued mostly just to try and defend my friend, " Anyway, I was up there because Ra…my friend wanted answers from Janos. He was a great guy… I only knew him for a few minutes, but he was the nicest anyone else had ever been to me…Kinda sad if you think about it." I felt awful for not being able to save Janos, and thinking of his awful death almost put tears to my eyes. If my powers had just done something, ANYTHING, I might've been able to help him, but no.

"Mmm-hmm…" Rahab sounded like he didn't believe my story, but he didn't say anything against it and continued with the questions. "Who was your friend? Was she a sorceress, too? Where is it you come from with clothing such as that and powers so weak at such an age?"

"Look, Rahab, that Raziel seemed like a real doucher, and I'm glad you stood up for me and all, but you still let him kill my friend. Sooo, I'm not just gunna stand here and answer your questions like I'm not pissed." I tried to fold my arms over my chest, but noticed they were still tied together from the back. Instead, I glared into the eyes of Raziel's apparent brother.

I couldn't ignore the fact that my Raz and Rahab's Raz were related in some way…They sounded the same, had the same hair, and nasty attitude, though my Raziel was actually playing for the good guys…Still…I'd have to ask him…If I saw him again. This was what he wanted, right? Me to go away and never come back. Moebius or whatever his name was interested in me apparently, but Raz seemed to hate me so much it didn't seem to matter…But what Janos said almost seemed believable. I saw Raziel's face when Janos' grabbed my hand, and he looked like he was gunna explode…But he had stuff to say to Janos, so he was most likely pissed that Janos chose me to talk to first…

Guess I'll know the truth if Raz comes and saves me…or not.

"Little gi- Vera," Rahab started, an immense scowl on his face, "Don't flatter yourself. When I said I felt differently about you to my brother, I meant in a sort of…protective way. I don't know. I suppose what I mean is…If there was a girl I didn't care about and you about to be killed and I had to choose to save one of you, I'd think about it for a while, then probably save you." He said, not making eye contact with me in embarrassment. "You probably cast a spell on me in the castle or something to make me feel like this. Besides, I'll say anything that defies what Raziel wishes."

"Well, gee wiz, thanks a ton." I said sarcastically, "How I've always wished for someone to maybe think they sort of kinda wanna save me from a horrible death."

"Yes, well, don't think it means anything…I'm still a curious about a few things, so if you could please continue answering my questions…I suppose I apologize for my brother killing someone you thought was a friend. As much as Janos was an awful vampire, I really didn't care whether he lived or died so it wasn't my decision to storm his castle."

"…I'm guessing that's as good as an apology as I'm going to get…Fine, I'll tell you my story…But only because it wastes time and I'm pretty sure my friend's gunna come and save me any minute now."

Or at least I hoped he would.

**Raziel**

The more I thought, the angrier I got…At everything. First and foremost Kain, who had become a vampire after he refused the sacrifice. After, he had created me and my vampire brothers…Out of all the humans he could choose, he turned humans who despised vampires more than anything else in the world into their most hated enemy. He probably found humor out of it as well, that horrendous bastard!

As a vampire, I was Kain's most trusted of generals, and when he made me, he gave me the most of his power, and gave less and less to each brother he turned. Therefore, I was the smartest and most handsome of all my brethren. I was his prize, his favorite, his second in command…Vampires evolve over years on earth, and their evolution depends on their personality traits. I was the first to evolve of all my brothers, and I was given by the gods beautiful bat-like wings. Kain grew jealous of my gift and in turn ordered my brothers to throw me into an abyss. They obliged willingly. My descent into the swirling agony was a long one, and I died long before I fell to the bottom years later. However, what claimed to be a God woke me from death and told me he was responsible for keeping the wheel of fate turning. He urged me to take revenge on my brothers and Kain and I did, finding each of my brothers mutated into different creatures, their evolutions turning them into monsters. Poetic justice I suppose, but that wasn't enough. I killed them all but Kain, who eluded me. Kain; the vampire who only grew stronger over the years of my death; Kain, who murdered my clan minutes after my death; Kain, who retained his body unlike my brothers and remained the selfish disgusting man he'd always been.

While searching for Kain, I have encountered many troubling questions about my fate…Questions I had hoped Janos knew the answers to, but no. The humans that were my brothers and I destroyed my only lead…

And Vera. That horribly annoying girl…What would they do to her now knowing that she wasn't a human? I did not want to think about it.

I needed that heart. And I needed that girl. I needed to storm the stronghold.

The Sarafan stronghold was easy to find, as it was large and easily spotted from miles away. After descending from Janos' home, I made my way around the village quietly and carefully, not wanting to be spotted and waste precious time I didn't have to save Vera.

The village was small, and from the outside it was almost like a large circle. I was careful to sneak by each individual house and duck behind one when I saw a guard. By now it was around two, and almost every person in the town was outside. I cursed at the horrendous timing, knowing that if I'd gone through the town instead of around it, I might be able to save a little more time at the cost of a few lives…Normally, I would not oppose to this, but after I'd met Vera I had gotten too soft when it came to killing 'innocent' humans. Though I was going to show no mercy to my bastard brothers.

There. I had made it past the town easily, as expected, with little time wasted. The castle was looking over the city, "protecting" it from inhuman attacks. There was a large stone wall surrounding the castle, with an unguarded but locked gate.

How confident were these humans that they did not even think to put someone outside the castle, thinking no one would dare challenged the mighty Sarafan.

I made the Soul Reaver appear on my hand, the purple light swirling around my arm until it took shape as the sword. After Kain had shattered the unbreakable sword on my back in a not too long ago battle, it appeared to me when I willed it to. I rose my hand and smashed it down on the lock to the gate, shattering it in seconds.

Look out Sarafan. Here comes your worst nightmare.

First to spot me were Melchiah and Dumah, and after a short battle I'd slain them both and sucked their souls into my jawless mouth. Their screams alerted my other brothers, and as I continued around the maze that was the castle I was attacked by Zephon and Turel. Zephon took my front, Turel my back. As they both went to stab me in the chest and backside, I jumped high into the air, causing them to stab each other and fall to the ground.

I ran farther into the castle until I was out of the narrow passage ways and into a large and square barren room. I didn't need to travel any farther, because as I walked in, I saw Rahab in conversation with Vera, whose arms were tied together from the back. Rahab noticed me first and pushed Vera aside and behind him before addressing me.

"Vile creature! Whatever it is you're here for, I'm going to have to ask you to leave at once! The Sarafan stronghold is not welcome to disgusting beasts such as yourself!" He smirked at me and drew his sword, turning once to look at Vera before charging me.

"Raz! Don't hurt him! He's actually not as big as an asshole as the other Raziel is! He saved me from you!...Er…the other you! Or at least I think it was you!" Vera yelled and tried to run after Rahab but tripped and fell on her back, off balance from her hands being incapacitated. "Ow! I feel like a turtle on its back! Can't…get…up!" She rolled around until she was able to sit up, but she couldn't seem to find the strength to lift herself up from that, staring at me in wide-eyed anticipation.

"Vera, you don't know who you're dealing with! This man saved you from nothing! Human or Vampire, Rahab has always been a liar!" I ran at my brother with the Soul Reaver extended, but he evaded the attack with a duck and sidestep.

"Oh please," Rahab started, hatred burning in his eyes at me, "I can't be half as bad as whatever it is you are! You think this young girl is going to believe you over me?! You're a monster! I vowed to protect this girl with my life! Why? Because for some reason, I see her differently then any other girl! So if you want to kill me, fine but let her live!" Rahab slashed his sword around in an angry fit of rage, hacking and whacking the air like an insane madman.

His words then and there were the cause of his death. For as he talked about how he felt for Vera, the anger in my chest boiled to new existing heights. I grabbed him from behind as he slashed wildly in front of him, thinking I was still there, and stabbed him hard through the back.

"Good night, brother. It's even better to kill you a second time." I whispered into his ear and yanked the sword from his back as he fell to the ground, blood gushing from his chest.

"RAZ! NO!" Vera screamed in a high pitch squeal of surprise, staring at me in a new light, her mouth open in horror.

Before I could explain myself, the human me came down from the stairway behind Vera, the Soul Reaver raised above his head.

"You disgusting creature!" The human me yelled and ran down the stairs, shoving Vera face down, who was in his path. She shot up again and glared at him, then her face went back to shock when it looked at me.

"How interesting. As a human I was an idiot." I stared me down, then threw my arm down at him. He dodged expertly and in turn tried to stab me, but I grabbed the Soul Reaver allowing it to cut into my skin and yanked it from his hands.

"What the-?!" My human self looked from my hands to my face in shock before I turned it around and stabbed him with both my Soul Reaver and his.

His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the ground beside Rahab as I took out the swords. I couldn't look at Vera, not wanting to see her look of realization that I was really and truly a monster. I looked at the Soul Reaver from the past, staring at every crevis and twist, not daring to look anywhere else.

But wait…What was it making me do?! The Reaver was forcing my hand down and – "Ugh…" I groaned as the sword forced me to stab myself.

"Raziel! What are you doing?! STOP!" I heard Vera scream but it was no use. The Reaver was in control and it was sucking out all my life force, and I could feel myself fading away.

Then I knew.

This was my life. A large circle. I was a human, but killed by me from the future, then Kain resurrected the human me and my brothers as vampires. Then, I was thrown into the abyss as a vampire, becoming a wraith. Kain must come looking for me, and eventually smash the Reaver over my back in an attempt to kill me, releasing a fraction of my soul and completing my powers; giving me the Soul Reaver in my arm…

"Raziel, please don't die! Janos was right, ok?! I…I was supposed to change your fate but…I guess I can't do that without admitting something…I- I know this is really soon but I think I…I think I love you. I know I just saw you kill two people but…Nothing you do can change this feeling I have. And I think it's love. Please don't die…For me." I heard Vera's voice crack in heavy emotion, for once serious with me.

The words washed over me, changing everything. Vera thought she loved me…And I knew I loved her. But it wasn't enough now. The Reaver wouldn't let my hand pull the energy sucking blade from my chest. I fell to my knees, squeezing out all I could for Vera…

"I…love…you…too…" I turned around and fell to my knees, seeing Vera's tears as she thrashed around, trying to untie her hands in a desperate attempt to save me.

Just when I was starting to fade from this world, I heard a noise from behind me…Whoever it was stood in front of me, and before I knew it had yanked my hand away from the Reaver's hilt, then pulled it from my chest.

"This is not how or where it ends, Raziel." That voice…it was….Kain?! But how did he get here?!

I tried to raise to my feet but fell to my hands and knees again. "Don't…don't hurt the girl…" I said in nearly a whisper, then fell to the floor in exhaustion.

"Oh, yes, I heard your little love fest as I was walking in…Do not worry. I'll have you figure it out on your own. Ask Moebius about the girl. Until then, I'll see you." As I heard his footstep disappear into nothing, my weakness consumed me.


	3. Love Is Weird

**Vera**

"Raziel!" I yelled after the mysterious guy had left and Raziel had fallen unconscious to the ground. I had barely seen the guy clearly, because again I was crying hysterically…And not because I had lost another friend…It was more than that now.

Raziel and I had just spoke our feelings…Janos said it was fate that made us care about each other so fast; that to change Raziel's future it had to happen so soon but why THIS soon?! It obviously wasn't enough that I loved him. So now fate makes me love him after two days then takes him away from me right after I fall for him?! It doesn't make sense!

And that damn Rahab had tied my wrists so tight that they were bleeding from all the thrashing I'd done trying to get out and save Raz. If only I could break free!

Focus, Vera. Focusing was nearly impossible for me to do…So near impossible that my parents once thought I had ADD. I wasn't the one who deserved these powers! Still, I had to try. For Raziel.

I imagined a knife cutting through the thick fabric that my wrists were bound with. I played the image of this knife in my hand over and over again in my head until suddenly I felt the cool handle in my palm. It had worked.

"Yes!" I muttered as I rubbed the knife against the fabric until it gave way and my hands broke free. "Hold on, Raz! I saved you once and I'll do it again!"

I ran to his side and kneeled down then turned his body around, propping him up against me. He was fading, and I knew he was fighting to stay with me, but his body had other plans, looking like a ghost for a second, then staying solid, then turning ghostly again. I had to act fast. With all my energy I hugged him, and as I focused hard on reviving him and opened my eyes, I saw my entire body glowing against his.

Maybe this was what Janos meant when he said I changed Raziel's fate. I had a seal on my magic, yet it burst through the seal momentarily for Raziel and Raziel alone. Yeah, I was sixteen, and yeah, maybe I had only known him for two days, but this was beyond reason. I knew that. So instead of thinking about how all of this should be wrong, I focused entirely on the way I felt about Raz.

I felt weaker and weaker by the minute, but I noticed Raziel was coming to. I smiled at my amazing skillz, then, draining the last of my energy on the guy I loved, I closed my eyes for a nap.

When I woke up, I noticed I was moving. I looked up, alarmed, but found that Raziel was carrying me in the woods. I wrapped my arms around his scarf covered neck and squeezed tightly.

It was a little chilly, and frankly, wrapping my arms around something that was just about as cold as the outside weather was not too smart. Still, clinging onto Raz made me feel warm inside, and that was all I needed now.

The forest was kinda creepy as it got darker, but the trees were super tall so at least we didn't have to move branches out of our faces or worry about bugs dropping down from the limbs. The sky was completely covered by green, blocking out any stars that might've been out tonight.

"I was worried you'd never wake up." Raziel looked down at me, his eyes bright with a tinge of concern. "You used so much of your life force, your power…and you barely had any to begin with…Thank you for all you've done. I'm sorry I didn't give you time to rest, but we needed to get out of there before more Sarafan had found us. My human self had set the alarm before showing himself to us, alerting the village. It would've only been a matter of time before we were captured and separated again."

"Thanks." I said, enjoying the fact that Raz was looking at me differently then he ever had. "So…Um…After I passed out, you just woke up and carried me out? Did you get Janos' heart back? With a vampire all you have to do is put it back in and he'll live again right?" I was slowly but surely gaining my strength back. Though it still hurt a little to talk, I could feel my voice getting stronger.

"Right…But no, I couldn't retrieve it. I had no idea where it was and my first priority was protecting you. The alarm was sounding, and though I had no problem killing as many people as necessary to get out, I couldn't risk you getting hurt in the condition you were in." He looked back behind him in sadness, probably thinking about the poor vampire who had lost his life in front of us. "Speaking of Janos, while I was slowly getting sucked into the Reaver, you said he knew about us or something to that nature. What was it he'd talked to you about?"

"Oh…Well, he basically said that fate made me come to Nosgoth and fate makes us love each other because it wants to change your um…" I struggled to remember what Janos had said, "Unfortunate destiny…But…does that mean now that you're saved, we won't love each other anymore?" I felt my heart sink in disappointment at my sudden and hopefully false realization.

It seemed weird to say this as a teenager, but I wasn't really interested in any guys from my old school. I had the same group of friends since fourth grade and the same enemy since first. Plus, I was sixteen, so even if I did find someone I liked, I knew it wouldn't be 'true love.' I'd never really taken anything seriously, so this feeling was so weird and so different but I didn't want it to disappear quite yet.

"Love is love, Vera. Whether fate wanted it to stay or not, it will always be here." He stopped suddenly and put me down under a nearby tree. "Now, it has been plaguing me for the entire time you were asleep, but I think it's time I told you the details of my lives…and deaths. First…" He looked down at the ground uncomfortably, then slowly pulled off his scarf.

"Woah!" I covered my mouth in shock. He had no lower jaw! He still had his vampire teeth coming down from his skull-like head, but that was it! Wait a minute…

"I understand if you don't want to be with me anymore…I AM a vile creature…Rahab was right…" Raziel sighed as he threw the scarf over his face again, looking despaired.

"How…how do you talk?!" I asked in wonder as I felt my own jaw. His face contorted to a look of sheer confusion and surprise.

"I show you my most hideous deformity and you ask how I can talk?...I am so grateful for you." He chuckled a little, then patted my head in that annoying way adults do to three year olds. I scowled, which he must've thought I did because he didn't answer my question, so he became serious again. "I'm not quite sure how it works, but I think it's something the Elder God did when he brought me back to life…I eat the souls of creatures on this land and it keeps his "Wheel of Fate Turning." As much as it pains me to help him, if I do not consume anything, I will fade to the Spectral Realm, or the realm of souls, and he will keep me there until I give up hope, lose my free will and become his slave again. I almost faded to the spiritual realm when the Reaver tried to consume me, but you saved me. I have no idea how long he would have kept me there." As he talked, Raziel started sounding angrier and angrier about the Elder God. I didn't really get it…I mean, this Elder God didn't seem to be anything to get THAT upset about about. An old guy who hung out with souls and didn't have anyone else to make his slave but Raz seemed kinda pathetic. Plus, it wasn't even like he could get to us while he was in that spectral realm thingy.

"Why couldn't you just be like, "Sorry, old dude, I'm leavin! See ya!' Then stab him like you did your human self?" I asked curiously, not seeing how anything could beat my new boyfriend.

"…Vera, even though he may not be the God he claims to be, he is a large octopus-like creature and his large tentacles can block exits. He has many eyes on those tentacles and he knows when I try to leave. No weapon is strong enough to inflict damage to him…It would have been terrible to have realized our feelings for each other and then have me trapped in the spectral realm for 500 years well you aged and died up here…" Raziel winced, shook his head, then turned away from me, "Anyway, we must get back to business. We must find Mobius and demand he answer our questions. So many things lead back to him…I wish I could kill that bastard but as it is he knows things we need to…"

"Why do we always have to find people? Is all of Nosgoth an Easter egg hunt or something?" I tried to get up from the itchy bark of the tree, but slipped and slid my back against it. "Owww…." My eye twitched in pain and I realized that it was because my bag, which usually protected my back, was gone. "Oh my gosh! Nooo! Gaaah!" I was suddenly filled with strength again as I stood up and stomped the ground several times. "No no no no no!"

"What is it?! Vera, is something wrong?" Raziel whipped around and grabbed my shoulders, looking me up and down for some kind of illness or huge gash.

But it was worse than that.

"Raz! My bag full of clothes and food and iPod is GONE! I left it at Janos' castle!" This time, I grabbed his shoulders and shook them rapidly. His eyes narrowed in unamusment.

"That's it? Vera, you're a sorceress. And if you don't have enough energy or your seal is preventing you from using your powers to replace those items, I can go into a village and get you food, water and clothes. Besides, it'd be better if you dress like a lady. You'll fit in." Raziel seemed super bored with my crisis and his insult only further enraged me.

"Like a lady?! What's THAT supposed to mean?! I am a very lady-like…er…lady, thank you very much!" I pulled at my purple sweatshirt with a scowl, then gave the nasty look to him. What did HE know about clothes?! His only outfit consisted of a scarf for crying out loud!

"Not like a lady from Nosgoth." He snapped but his face relaxed when he seemed to notice I could stand on my own two feet again. "Good. You can walk again. If you feel like you're going to collapse, tell me and I'll carry you, alright?"

"Fine…But you know you can't replace my iPod! I loved that thing like it was my own child! That sang beautifully!" I pouted, mostly because I didn't know what to say to his softer voice and caring words.... Plus, now I'd have to sing The Pina Colada Song acapella! It could NEVER work!

"And things are back to the way they used to be." He sighed, then looked to the slowly darkening sky which was slightly visible through the gaps between the tops of the trees. "Why don't we stay here for the night? I know you're probably not tired after all your rest, but if you sleep you can return to your full potential and I can sneak into the village and get you supplies."

"YOU wanna have me rest? You almost had an aneurism last time I said I had to sleep!" I grinned as I took off my sweatshirt and fluffed it up, throwing it under the huge tree as my pillow before turning my attention to Raziel again.

"That was prudent. I needed to see Janos as soon as possible. If it wasn't for you, we may have gotten to him in time to get useful information from him…" He said as he shook his head with a scowl, then his voice got softer, something that I hadn't gotten used to yet, "Besides…I care about you. I want you to be as strong as you can because we might have to fight together…I'll prevent that as much as I can, but if anything terrible happened to you…" He shuddered, then looked up at me again with a determined look on his face, "So, you remain here. This area is very secluded, so I am confident nothing will harm you. I'll be back as quickly as I can." He turned like he was going to just leave me without a goodbye or anything, but I ran up to him and gave him a huge hug.

"Be careful, ok, Razzy?" I felt his body stiffen in surprise, then his arms awkwardly wrapped around me, his cold body feeling strange against my warm one.

"I will try." He said as he broke away from the hug, then tilted my chin up with his hand, staring into my eyes with such emotion in his own I had to look away.

"Umm…So, yeah, good luck!" I said with an awkward smile, then patted him on the shoulder uneasily. "Break a…er…Ribcage?"

"Mmm…" Raziel grunted with a nod, then headed off through the woods, leaving behind me and my tree.

Love was weird.

**Raziel**

I looked back one last time to the forest I left Vera in, then continued to the village we'd just escaped from, knowing that by now, everyone would have just assumed it was a vampire that killed me and my brethren and locked their doors twice tonight.

The village was indeed filled with idiots. My brothers and I had gone hunting several times as vampires here, and they had never even apprehended one of us. After a while, it'd be a joke and we'd all try our hardest TO get caught, and still none of us got even close to being taken in. That was probably why the Sarafan had been so near to the village in this time…Still, with my brothers and I dead, the search team would be after someone and not stop until they at least had a suspect.

Vera was right. I'd have to be careful.

Vera…The girl was my life now. I could not have a thought that contained anything or anyone else but her… Fate brought her to me to change my destiny but also to change my life. Before her I had nothing but revenge to live for…Revenge and my mysterious fate.

Hmm…My fate… I looked to my hand and the Reaver still became visible when I willed it to….It appeared that for now, Vera had merely postponed my fate…After all, time never did like a paradox. I could not tell her and worry her quite yet.

I found the bakery of the town and smashed a window, then jumped through it, looking around to see if my noise had disturbed anyone. It hadn't.

I grabbed three loaves and continued to the other side of town where I knew the village tailor was and pulled the door knob from its socket, then pushed the door open. This was a more conventional method that I probably should have used for the bakery, but I knew the guards were placed closer to the castle, which was nearest to this side of the village.

I grabbed a few dresses that I could not even imagine Vera in, but it would have to do. I wrapped the bread in the clothing and grabbed the vase the tailor was using to hold flowers, dumping out the contents on the table as I thought of where the town well was...I was here more than 1000 years ago but I'd been here so many times it was easy to remember where the important places were. Still, I had never needed to get to the well as a vampire and I do not remember my human life…My only guess was that it was closest to the castle so I headed in that direction, jumping to the roof of a nearby house to avoid being seen by the guards directly in front of me who were turned and protecting what must've been an important official's house.

The two were of little threat, not even wearing armor. They both were wearing red outfits, a sign of their status in the town. They carried large spears and no shields and were so wrapped up in conversation, they did not hear my ascent to the roof of the house behind them.

"Did you hear?" One of them said to the other, "There's a rumor that Janos Audron's spawn Vorador was the one who murdered our Sarafan heroes and I believe it! I think we should go after him, not stay here! If it was him and he made it out alive, why would he have any reason to come back?"

"We're here to comfort the public, I suppose. Though I disagree with your Vorador theory. I think it's much more probable that that vampire from a week ago that broke in came back. We chased him to the woods before we lost that bastard! It's very likely he became enraged that our Sarafan protectors pursued him like some weak little rodent and he came back for revenge."

Vampire?! Woods?! I could not believe it! I'd left Vera sleeping, in the woods, where a vampire is lurking around! How could I have been so stupid?! I needed to get back to her as soon as possible!

"Are you mad?! A weak little forest dweller killings all six of the strongest human heroes in all of Nosgoth?! Vorador is almost like the leader of those undead creatures! They listen to him and he puts ideas into their heads! It has to be hi-" I jumped down from the roof, landing right in front of them. Their faces looked shocked and surprised, and they raised their weapons at me with horrified looks in their eyes. A common reaction for humans after they see me, "What the-?!" Before the guard could finish, I willed the Reaver to my hand and chopped his head off, then it disappeared as I grabbed the other one by the collar and lifted him to the air.

"Where is the well?" I demanded, slamming him against the brick house. He looked fearful, then his eyes fell to my other arm, which contained a vase and ladies clothing. His fear faded slightly to make room for confusion.

"I-it's in the town square!" His voice quaked and his eyes bulged then he looked down into my other hand again, "Why do you have women garments?!"

"I don't have time to answer that." I dropped him to his knees and stabbed him through the back with my Reaver, which once again appeared for me. I quickly sucked his soul into my body, then jumped on top of the house I was on before, jumping from roof to roof to avoid being seen by other guards.

I found the town square and wheeled the bucket up from the well by pulling on the rope. I filled the vase half way and ran as quietly and quickly as I could to get to my Vera. I prayed to whatever god there was that she was still alive.

I found the large tree I had placed her under and dreaded the sight I would see behind it. Filled with anticipation, I rounded the corner and found her, her knees tucked into her body, her shirt ripped and eyes wide in terror.

"Vera?" I placed her clothes, food and water on the ground and ran to her, "Are you alright?! What happened?! Where is he?!"

"R-Raz…It was so scary!" She wrapped her arms around me tightly, and I could feel her shaking. I wasn't used to showing affection to anyone, but I squeezed her securely to me and rocked her back and forth without thought.

"Please, Vera…Tell me what happened." I said quietly into her ear and after a moment of sniffling, she spoke in a shaky voice.

"There was this guy…I couldn't sleep because I wanted to wait for you...it got a little late so I started to close my eyes…Then I saw this shape. I thought it was you, so I jumped up, but he slammed me into the tree by my neck. I squeezed his arms really hard with my hands and they finally burst into flames…remember how I wanted my hands to do that at Janos'…Yeah, I was proud of myself," She smiled weakly, then it disappeared as she thought about the vampire again, "So I tried to run, but he grabbed me by my shirt and it ripped…" She broke away from me and pulled at her red camisole which now only had one working strap, "And he turned me around and his fangs grew… And just when he was about to suck my blood, he disappeared." Her eyes were still wide from the shock, and I wanted nothing more than to see her smile again. However, I couldn't try to improve her mood just yet.

"This is very important…honey." I tried the word out but it seemed awkward hearing my voice say it and even Vera looked at me strangely…Intimacy was not my strong point…I continued after clearing my throat uneasily, "What was the last thing you thought of before the vampire disappeared?"

"Well…" She stuck her tongue out as she thought carefully, "My life flashed before my eyes…but not much of it since he disappeared so quickly…I guess my last memory was when I was at my cousin Ayla's birthday party...I was six, and I got mad that all the attention was on her, since it always was, even when it wasn't her birthday, and I climbed a tree in her backyard…I got stuck in it for an hour and the only one who actually did care was Ayla. She was the one who got a ladder while my family just said I'd get down on my own. She was only eight then…She's always been like the sister I wanted, not the sister I have…Wait, why is that import…" Her eyes grew larger in realization, then she jumped into the air, "Are you thinking I poofed him into my cousin's backyard accidentally?! We HAVE to try to get back there, Raz! I won't let her have her blood sucked by a vampire!"

"Vera, it'll be alright really." I got up and went to get her bread in water, "Calm down and drink and eat." I tried to give her the vase and a loaf of the bread but she didn't even look at them even though it'd been a whole day since she'd eaten.

"Raziel, you don't get it!! You obviously don't have much experience with caring about anyone but yourself! We HAVE to go see Janos and we HAVE to go find Mobius but when MY cousin's in danger we just let her die?! And it'd be all my fault, too!"

"It would not be your fault. It was accidental." Her words were true – I had no experience with any emotion besides anger and sadness, and I was starting to realize it was a lot easier to focus on my original mission without sentiments… Yes, I knew how others felt about family, and I understood why Vera thought we could help her cousin but she barely had enough power left to transport herself let alone me AND help me kill the creature, then come back…It was most likely too late anyway, but I couldn't tell her that. "I apologize, Vera but even if you did have enough –" I tried to explain my logic, but she closed her eyes and seemed to be wishing herself to her cousin's house. "Vera! Do NOT try to go there on your own, I won't allow you!!" I put her food and water on the ground again and grabbed her wrists, putting as much distance between her palms as I could. "If it's happened, it's happened already."

Unfortunately, that didn't help calm her down. She fought me for control of her wrists, but I wouldn't let go. I lifted her up into the air by her arms and she kicked around trying to make me drop her. I waited until she gave up and placed her on the ground.

"Vera, I've got a better idea. Use your powers to check up on her. Put yourself there, but only mentally. I know it will be tough, and you don't have much magic after transporting the vampire and using fire but-"

She had already closed her eyes and held up her hand to silence me as she did what I suggested. "She's…fine." She sounded so relieved; it made me happy to have given her that idea. "She looks really freaked out though…Super sweaty, but she's got one of those towels wrapped around her body…I think the ambulance brought it for her. The vampire is getting arrested…" Vera's eyes opened and a huge grin appeared on her face. "She's ok. I shoulda expected that from Ayla."

"Good. Now eat a little, alright?" I picked up her food and water and handed them to her. She seemed to notice them for the first time and drank the water from the vase without complaining, something I didn't expect. Then she ate half the bread before beaming at me contentedly. "Sorry about what I said, Raziel. I was just freakin' out. Ayla's, like, the nicest person on the entire Earth! Do you think we could check on her after we see Moebius?"

"…Alright. As long as it is AFTER we find Moebius." I sighed, not wanting to see her upset again. "I do not know the first place to look for him though."

"Hey, let's go back to my place! My parents said he was an old friend of theirs!" Vera looked up at me excitedly and then pleadingly, "Yeah! I'm sure they'll be a little mad, but they'll be so happy to see me, they'll forgive me soo fast! I can't wait to see their faces when they see you!...And, uh, did I mention they know Moebius?"

"Hmmm…" I loved seeing her happy, but I could not afford wasting any more time. "We…" Her smile faded and was replaced with a disappointed pout, something I could not resist. "We can go." I sighed heavily and she beamed again, throwing herself at me for a hug.

"Thank yooooou!" She kissed my cheek, first the right one, then the left one and I stiffened in surprise. To feel the warmth of her lips against my cold, blue skin I could have sworn I was in heaven.

"Get some rest. As it is, you will not be getting much tonight…You used a lot of magic and I am proud that you were able to protect yourself, but like I said, you need to rest up. You do not know if you will need to use your powers tomorrow." I placed my disfigured claw on her head and patted it a few times awkwardly. Her smile turned into a scowl. I could tell she didn't like when I did this, but there was really no other way I could show affection in this hideously deformed body. I sighed again, then sat on the ground, turned away from her. "Good night, Vera. I'll wake you tomorrow."

"Ok…" She sounded disappointed, but after a few minutes, I turned and she was fast asleep with her sweatshirt under her head again.

I wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but I hoped it would provide some answers.


	4. Aforementioned PLOT TWIST! BUM BUM BUM!

Ok, so I don't own any LoK characters! Vera is the only thing that's mine! And I took creative liberties with the plot. GET OVER IT.

By the way, let me know if you like this because this is the last section I have finished! I'll write more if I get reviews (which, as of now, I have the best two reviewers in the universe: SoulTail Omega-Light and Littlevamp!)! I hope you like this installation I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to add to this hopefully soon! Please enjoy!

**Vera**

"Vera, wake up." I felt my shoulder being shook and opened one eye. Raziel, who was looking very impatient, was standing over me. "Here." He said almost emotionless and handed me the ugliest brown dress I had ever seen in my life.

"Th-this is what you got for me?! What, is it from Potato Sack Monthly?! It's horrendous!' I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the scratchy and unflattering dress. If he thought I was wearing this ANYWHERE, he was crazy! "On second thought, I don't mind wearing the same outfit on this entire adventure! As long as it's not a potato sack!" I threw the dress to the ground, which made Raziel look even angrier.

"I am sorry these dresses are not fit for a princess, but keep in mind you are the farthest away from royalty as you can get." He snapped then threw the other dress at my face. It even smelled like potato! I ripped it away from my nose and chucked it behind me.

"That was uncalled for, Raz!" I glared at him in anger, but then realized I was gunna get to see my family again today and my anger disappeared. "…But…um…I know you went through a lot of trouble to get my food and clothes and water last night, so thank you. Nosgoth isn't my style, but I appreciate what you did for me."

His eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded, seeming to calm down. "I still think you should wear the dress instead. That way you'll blend in with your surroundings better."

"Oh, like YOU blend in with your surroundings?" I raised an eyebrow at him, not anticipating his response.

"I do not. That is why; if we are captured they'll let you go without question, thinking I kidnapped you. If you are in anything foreign it might be harder for you to be freed without question. The Sarafan may be suspicious to you as well as the other humans you come in contact with. I want you to be safe."

"Thanks, but if you go down I'm goin' down with you!" I beamed, happy I didn't have to wear that awful dress but also happy about how sure I was when it came to being side by side with Raziel to the end. "I'm not just gunna ditch you at the first sign of trouble!"

"Mmm…" He mused thoughtfully, not seeming sure if he liked what I said or not. Why wouldn't what I said make him happy? He was weird…"Are you ready to leave this place?"

"Sure." I shrugged, picking up my sweatshirt and throwing it on over my camisole. There was no more water left, so I grabbed the rest of the bread Raz had gotten me, and thankfully left the dresses.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, I decided to bring up yesterday's events, "So, can you tell me what happened back at the castle? I was really happy that we said our 'I love you's' and everything, but you went on a mass killing spree, then tried to off yourself! What happened back there?" I was really curious about his explanation, and I'd been a little afraid to ask, but crap like that doesn't just get forgotten that easy.

"…I had to kill them. Not only would they have tried to kill you and alerted the village to get more Sarafan warriors into the castle, it was destiny for them to die at my hands. You see, after my brother's and I died, Kain, the one who ripped the Reaver from my chest back at the castle, would return there years later and resurrect us as vampires. Vampires evolve over time, slowly but surely, and I was the first to gain wings. These wings to be exact." He grabbed at the hole-covered light blue floppy things on his back in disgust, "Then, in an act of pure jealousy, Kain makes my brothers throw me into an abyss. I tumble in agony and pain until I land at the bottom and am brought back to life by the Elder God as this. He tells me to take revenge, and I do, killing all my mutated brothers…Kain is the only one who eludes me."

"Mutated brothers?!" I asked in fascination, "What does that mean?" I tried to picture Raziel's brothers with eight arms each and billions of eyes with laser vision. It was tough.

"Depending on their personalities, they mutated into different creatures." He shrugged in disinterest, not wanting to talk about it anymore. At this point, we were almost out of the woods. He stopped and took my arm, "Here. We need to stay hidden in the trees. If we leave the forest now, the villagers will see us. If we turn here and stay on the outskirts of the woods, we will be fine." He turned right and we continued walking near the edge of the trees, which I was really starting to get sick of seeing now. After about ten minutes of walking through the now hot and smelly outskirts, we finally were what Raziel thought was safe.

I was happy to finally be out of that humid stink hole, which seemed so much less majestic in the day. The open sky was so nice-bright and blue-and the sun shun warmly. I liked Nosgoth in the day…

However, I couldn't fully enjoy it because I couldn't stop thinking about what Raziel had said before.

"What does Rahab mutate into?" I asked in a nervous tone, partially nervous of what I was going to hear and partially because of Raz's reaction. Unfortunately, he seemed to pick up on it.

"What does it matter what Rahab turns into? He's dead." He said coldly, glaring at me as if waiting for me to say something different.

"Well, we sorta were friends…I don't know. He was really protective of me and we talked a little before you saved me." I shrugged, and I noticed Raz's fists were clenched in anger.

"What's wrong with that? The human you was really mean to him and he had no other friends…He didn't kill Janos. He told me he didn't even want to kill him."

"Why didn't you just stay with him then, Vera? If you two got along so well you would've had a great life with him!" Raziel practically yelled at me, and it was weird to see him reacting so strongly to one comment.

"Well, there're a couple reasons why I can't. First, you killed him." I said flatly, not feeling too badly, because I knew all of the brother he killed would come back as vampires, "Second, even if you hadn't, I love YOU. Just cuze you're not human doesn't mean I love you any less!" I grinned and shoved him a little, which he wasn't expecting, making him stumble and almost fall.

"I…love you, too." He said softly after he recovered, then reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly before letting go uncomfortably. Awkward again. Both of us needed practice with this whole love thing.

Silence came, and as it did, I processed all the things Raz had told me, "So, wait, if you were humans NOW, then you're a vampire THEN you're…what you are now…doesn't that mean we're in the past?" I asked in confusion.

"Exactly. Moebius is a Time Streamer. Before we met, I had chased Kain down to Moebius' time chambers. Kain escaped me by running into one of them. I followed, and this is where I landed. Moebius must've put you and your family here so we could meet each other, but he must not have wanted our confrontation to happen so soon. I do not think he considered your free will, like he and the Elder God did not consider mine." I knew if Raz had a jaw right now, he'd be smiling at me, because I could hear that his voice was swollen with pride and I noticed his white eyes glowed brighter if he was happy.

"Soo, if I followed my free will and asked what Rahab mutated into, you'd tell me, right?" I asked with a smile, knowing I'd outsmarted him.

He shook his head in disappointment, "Vera, the beauty of free will is that you are not following anything. It's not something you listen to; it's something that defines you…" I could feel his emotions grow stronger as he talked, and I wondered if he felt as strongly about free will as he did about me. Then, he flat-lined again. "If you must know, Rahab becomes a disgusting fish creature. He was never very social as a vampire, so his mutation followed that. He dwelled in the waters with his clan members until the day I killed him."

"That's awful!" I said in horror, putting my hand over my mouth in shock. Again, Raziel scowled and I had no idea why he was so sensitive about Rahab. The guy was really nice to me. He didn't care about much in life, but he seemed to feel strongly about two things; his hatred for Raziel and his big brother-like protection of me. He, like me, seemed confused about why this feeling had come so fast, but I guess fate wanted to keep me alive and the only way it thought it could was by getting Rahab to actually care about something. I was ok with it as long as it meant I was still breathing! Well, whatever, Rahab was obviously a sensitive subject, so I continued to walk with Raz silently again until I became impatient, "You know, why don't I just use my magic to take us back to my place? I don't really wanna walk all the way back there. That was like a whole day of work! I mean, I know you want me to conserve my powers and all that, but you know the old sang, 'use it, or lose it!'" I shrugged with a grin, but Raz looked confused at the term, then shook his head when we realized what I was trying to say.

"It really is not a long trip. It just seemed longer because we walked up a mountain and you got captured. In fact, look now." He gestured ahead of us and the mountain leading to Janos' castle wasalomst directly in front of us.

"Woah!" I said in surprise, staring up at the giant peak. It had happened so fast! All we had now was about an hour and a half of walking and…UGH! "I mean, yeah it's cool we're HERE, but I really wanna just get THERE! I'm not built for endurance! Please please PLEASE let me use my powers! I know I can do it!" I pleaded, getting down on my hands and knees and looking into his eyes with my best attempt at puppy dog irresistible begging.

"It is a waste but if it will stop your complaining, fine." He sighed again in resign and took my hand expectantly, "Is this what I should do? Or should I get closer?" Before I could answer, he wrapped his arms around my body. I was surprised, but loved the fact that he'd hugged me first for once, even if he'd only done it to make it easier for me to transport us both.

"That's, uh, that's perfect." I said after clearing my throat. I could feel my cheeks glow with a blush, and tried my hardest to cover it up by turning my face away from his. I felt his claws pushing on my back, trying to get me closer to him. My head was resting against his chest, and even though my face was right up against his itchy brown scarf, it felt nice to be so close to him. It was weird, but his body hadn't felt this warm the entire time I'd know him. "Umm…Uh…I…" For once in my life, I was speechless. So I did what they do in all romance novels when two people that love each other get close. I closed my eyes, leaned in and tried and kiss him. Aaaaaaand forgot he had no lower jaw.

With my lips still pursed, I opened my eyes to see him looking at me sadly. We stared at each other for a few minutes and instead of making myself look stupid in front of my boyfriend I kissed him on the nose. Needless to say, it wasn't the most graceful thing I'd done.

"Vera, I'm sorry I can't be what you need me to be…" Raz's hands slowly loosened their grip from around my waist and he sounded so depressed I wish I hadn't tried to kiss him.

"Look, it's fine. I just…forgot. Cheer up! I don't care that I can't kiss you! It'd be nice, but I don't NEED it! Now come on! Let's find that old Moebius dude!" I grinned and wrapped my arms tightly around his cold body again, closing my eyes and focusing my hardest on the house I hated so much…

I pictured the ugly light brown house with the unwelcoming dark wood door, the two stories and the windows that were randomly spaced and huge, as if they were mocking me, showing me the outside world but not allowing me to leave.

I could feel my feet lift from the ground and a swirl of the wind whip my hair as I smiled confidently. Raziel was gunna be impressed! I had this seal on me, but I was doing advanced magic that I wouldn't have even known anything about yesterday! I felt my feet hit the ground again and opened my eyes instantly, a little light-headed but really happy.

"Wasn't that awesome, Raz?!" I turned with a laugh but I could feel that something was wrong. And I was right.

There was no sign of Raziel no matter which way I turned. In fact, the only thing in front of me was a charred mix up of wood and window frames that were still smoking slightly.

Was that…? No. No! It couldn't be! What had happened in these past two days?! I ran over to the ruble of my house and searched for something, anything to see if my family was ok. All there was in the pile was ash, soot and scorched lumber. I was freaking out, realizing that now, I had nothing. No Raziel, no family, and…I tried my hardest to take myself back to were I'd last been with Raz…Nothing happened. No magic either.

I sunk down to the ground in despair when, after a few minutes, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whipped around in hope, expecting to see mom, dad or even Lily with a smile on their face telling me everything was fine. But, no.

"Vera! It is good to finally have you alone." Moebius, a.k.a. pervy old dude was grinning wildly at me.

I had never seen this guy close up and he was creepy. His eyes had a white film over them, and his face was wrinkly and unfriendly looking even though he was smiling. His bald head gleamed and the eight carved on his forehead seemed to glow red against his grey skin. He was wearing purple robes and carried a staff with a snake twisting around it which was biting into a giant orb on the top of the staff.

I smacked his hand off my shoulder and shot up, backing away from him, "What'd you do to Raziel?! And my family?! You better tell me quick, old man, or I'll use my magic on you! I'm a powerful sorceress!" I pointed threateningly at him, hoping I looked intimidating enough for him to believe I could still use my powers. I must've sucked horribly at it, because he started laughing…really hard.

"Vera, sweetheart, I, of all people, know that you're a sorceress. You cannot surprise me with that. I also know that you have a seal on your magic, and at the moment, your powers are not working. I know more about you than you do, my dear!" Moebius tried to come closer to me again, but I continued to back away, knowing that if Raziel hated him, he had to be bad news.

"You don't know anything about me, Moebius! Maybe you know my parents, but I'm nothing like them!" I hurled at him, feeling nervous and scared that Raziel wasn't around to protect me. He wasn't that intimidating, but his staff was making me a little uneasy, only because I had no idea what it did.

"That is true. You are nothing like the Shard family at all. Do you want to know why, Vera? Why you don't quite seem to fit with them? Why you are a sorceress? Why I put you in Nosgoth? Why I visited you on every single one of your birthdays until now?" He smirked and stared at me like he expected me to figure something out, but I had no clue what his point was.

"Well?! Tell me then!" I snapped loudly, staring at the old man who just seemed to be getting more and confident as I became more and more clueless.

"You are rather dense, aren't you? Alright, well, if you haven't figured it out yet, I will indulge you. I am your father." The old man came closer to me, as if after those words were spoken, we were friends.

"What, have you been watching Star Wars or something? Listen, Moe, if you think I'm seriously gunna believe that, you're out of your bald mind!" I screamed and jumped back again, but I knew deep down in my sinking heart he was right. I didn't know how I knew, but I did.

"Vera, you are my daughter. I impregnated Mrs. Shard sixteen years ago with a special formula and spell I spent years searching for. You see, I knew my fate was to die in the hands of Raziel or Kain. I also knew that the God Raziel and I both serve needed him. Therefore, I devised a plan. If I created a child, and made her powerful enough to destroy Raziel, SHE could be The Elder God's new apprentice. SHE could master spells to steal the souls from the dead. That was your primary purpose, child. You were made to kill your 'love.' And I promise you, once that seal breaks, you WILL have only one objective – to kill Raziel." His smile contorted to a scowl of annoyance, "I should have taken you from them sooner, but you needed to stay safe and alive. The only place I could be sure of that was if you stayed in New York. Still, the Shards are snobs…They excluded you subconsciously all your life…If I'd found another family you might've stayed in the Nosgoth house longer and not run into Raziel…However, they were trying unsuccessfully to have a second child when I'd stumbled upon them and it worked out well. I said I wished them luck and that I knew they would have a child VERY shortly. I became their friend and snuck the potion into your mother's drink at a bar. I told them I would check in on them every once in a while and soon you were born. I visited you when you were a month old and placed the seal then. Then, I went back to Nosgoth and came down once a year for your birthday. I wanted to see when your seal looked like it would be close to breaking. Your sixteenth birthday proved to be that year. I told your family that you were in danger, that they needed to move to protect you, and with a little bit of smoke and mirrors I was able to 'show them' through this staff a very life-like image of your dead body. They came to Nosgoth without question where I told them after a month I would be taking you to a special school where you would live with me for a year, then you would be headed home safely. A lie, of course, but they ate it up without any suspicion, the fools. But you, loving daughter, left a few days before I was going to take you home with me for training. And on top of that, you ran into your destined enemy and fell for him! Naturally, I was a little upset by this turn of events, but not to worry. I have a special place to keep you until your seal breaks…or maybe you'll die first. Either way, you will not be helping Raziel any longer. Try to stay alive though, my dear. I would like to have an unstoppable killing machine shortly!"

Each word he spoke was like a dagger through my heart, and he spoke a LOT of words…This was why I felt like an alien all my life…But…I loved my family and even if I wasn't like them, I was just happy to have blood relatives who put up with me and loved me because they had to. But now that was a lie. My only relative was this old man. And he made me to kill Raziel, the guy I thought I was born to save.

I fell to the ground in despair, wondering why life had to be ironic. Once Raziel figured out who I was the daughter of, he'd hate me…Janos was wrong; I wasn't told in the prophecy because I was Moebius' last resort - his last chance at saving his own life, not because I was made to save Raz.

"W-where are they? My fam…The Shards? And Raziel?" I asked, my voice shaking, unable to look up at the man who claimed to be my father.

"Oh, they left. They changed their lives for you by coming here and you selfishly ran away from them. So they gave up and asked me to send them back to New York. Of course I sent them back, but I did not want vampires to squat at this house, so I burned it down. As for Raziel, you did that. You were overconfident and thankfully it worked to my advantage. He's wherever you transported from. If he had come with you, I would've just transported the two of us to my home." The old man sounded disinterested, and I could hear him getting closer and closer to me but I didn't have the energy to get up. I didn't have the energy to think anymore. "Now, you have to go. Take my hand." I caught his extended hand from the corner of my eye and that was when I gave up.

Why did it matter? When Raziel found out who I was, he wouldn't love me anymore. I was better off where Moebius was sending me. My family would forget about me. I'm sure my friends would, too. I had no one now.

With a shaking arm, I reached out and clasped the old man's hand.


	5. The Truth and Unrequited Love

Ok, so I don't own any of the LoK characters and blah blah blah! This story is my own so I KNOW THE REAL ONE. Please don't try to correct me because I know how things actually went in the game but I like to have fun and take creative liberties! Thanks!

A huge shout out the following people – Soultail Omega-Light, Littlevamp and MorgannaVenus Persephone! They are my closest friends on this site and I'm soo happy to have met them! Please check out their work as well because it is loads better than mine!

**Raziel**

"Vera? Vera, come out this is not funny!" I snapped impatiently to air, whirling around to see the same green land and tall mountain leading to Janos' castle I had before I closed my eyes.

I thought we had moved past this… Though I loved the girl I certainly did not love her pranks and jokes, especially at a time like this. As it was, I was doing her a favor by letting us visit her parents; it was doubtful they knew anything useful. This was certainly not the way to repay me for that. I waited a few more seconds, but she still did not appear.

If she was not coming out, it was possible that this was a mistake…Perhaps she had transported herself accidentally; unaware that her powers were not fully recovered…She never listened to me…

If that was so, I needed to get to her old home as fast as possible, before anything could get to her…Though Moebius seemed to have put a barrier around Vera's old house, since no creatures had infiltrated it in her entire time in Nosgoth, I was not going to rely on that.

I was sick with worry as I thought more and more about what could be happening right now with Vera on her own, particularly with the mouth she had on her.

I sighed in frustration and broke out into a jog through the grassy flatland, a trip that I knew I could cut down about half the time on if it was without Vera.

I was about ten minutes into my run when I heard my name being called and whipped around, on defense.

Kain stood before me, not the usual smirk on his face but a determined stare. His yellow eyes scanned the area, then his wrinkled, gray face drew together in impatience.

"Where is the girl?" He snapped edgily, the Soul Reaver he pulled from my chest in his arm. His head turned in search of Vera; his long, white hair disheveled in his attempt to catch up to me.

"What is it to you?" I growled, the Soul Reaver bursting brightly onto my arm. It enraged me to see Kain for many reasons, the main being that it was his fault I was this hideous form. Not only did that fuel my rage towards him, but now he was searching for my Vera, sword in arm like his sole purpose was to stab it through her chest.

"She's gone back to Moebius, hasn't she?" His face contorted again, this time to a look of anger, "Damn it…" He muttered under his breath, head down, then he lifted it again "She tricked you, Raziel."

"What are you talking about, Kain? You know nothing about Vera! You're not worthy enough to even speak her name!" I bellowed, my anger exploding into hot fire. I charged him, Soul Reaver out and pointed straight at him, but he sidestepped it.

"She's Moebius' daughter, Raziel!" He hurled at me, making me stop in shock, eyes wide. Then I quickly regained composure, knowing it was a preposterous lie, and charged him again.

"I know all your tricks, Kain! You cannot lie to me so obviously and expect me to believe you!" I spat, but he jumped into the air, over my head and on the other side of the grassy plain.

"It's true, Raziel! After I left you and the girl, changing fate yet again, it gave me new memories…I visited Moebius' time chambers, found his basin – you know, the one that reflects to you whatever time you wish to see – and requested to see her future. It was not good for us, Raziel. She is using you! She is Moebius' right hand man and soon she WILL kill the two of us. I saw the two of us being struck down. You let her kill you because you cannot bear to hurt the woman you 'love.' Your soul makes her even more powerful, virtually impossible to kill after that. I try to strike her down but…by that point, it's no use." I knew Kain was untrustworthy, but the look on his face showed no hint of dishonesty…It appeared as though he believed what he was saying very strongly…Maybe it was the truth…

I could not believe I was having doubts. Vera, the girl that saved me from being trapped with the Elder God twice, the girl that said she loved me, the girl that tried to kiss me…No. She was no one's right hand man. She was my love.

"I can tell you do not believe me. But think about it – a girl in love with _you_? Look at yourself, Raziel! You honestly believe a girl like that, a sorceress no less, would look past your hideous deformities and _love _you?! You are a fool. I bet she and Moebius are laughing at you right at this very moment! You need to realize the importance of the situation. I'm going to find her and change the future yet again. You can stand by and be yet another person's pawn or you can join me and help me bring the father-daughter team down. Your choice, Raziel." Kain spoke, and after a slight pause, he shook his head, then ran the direction I had been heading toward before our encounter, about half an hour from Vera's home…

What was the point of going after him? What he said was true and hit me hard…How could anyone possibly love me when I looked the way I did? Vera was beautiful and I was a mutant…

One thing I could say was that she was a good actress.

Bitterly, I stood for a few minutes, thinking about our two days together and what a lie they'd been…and how stupid I was to believe it. Did I really care if Kain killed her? The answer was…yes. I still had feelings for her despite her deceiving ways… How could I be so pathetically in love with this girl when she had just betrayed me?

No, I could not let Kain kill her…But I could not let her get off so easily either. I was going to confront her.

I mentally prepared myself for the heart break that would ensue when I saw the real Vera. The girl who felt nothing for me…The girl who wanted me dead…It was too much.

I got down on my knees, wondering why the hell I had agreed to let her follow me in the first place. This feeling…this helplessness…it was nothing I had felt before. I wanted to dig my own grave and bury myself in it. I wanted to be sucked into the Reaver. I wanted to not have this feeling of betrayal and hurt so far deep under my skin that I felt like the only way I could get it out would be to cut it out of me…

"I understand your pain, Raziel."

I whirled around, again defensive of the all too familiar voice behind me, "Moebius." I glowered at the man who had given the orders for Vera to seduce me, "Where is your daughter? We have a few things to discuss."

"So you know, then? I'm guessing Kain told you? Well, I regret to inform you that all of it is true. Vera was never in love with you. I cannot believe you even let her get so close in such little time!" The old man chuckled lightly, "And after she kills you, she will be the Soul Reaver. How is that possible, you ask? Well, the Soul Reaver is broken up into three pieces now. You already knew about yourself and the sword but when I made the potion containing my magic and a few other select ingredients for Vera's mother to drink, I made sure to put an element of the Soul Reaver into it as well. It was a very difficult process indeed but, my god, it was worth it. Knowing what I knew about the future – mine, yours and Kain's – I went back into the past and made some changes," Here he paused with a sly smile, then continued, "I knew that the God I provide for needed someone grateful and powerful to serve him and you weren't the man for the job. I knew I would die at the hand of Kain. So I made Vera to solve all of these problems… You know, all I said to her was that she needed to kill you. It was she who insisted upon the mind games and trickery. Though I must say, it made things a lot more entertaining for both of us."

It was then that I lunged at the old man.

.

**Rahab**

"Raziel! Raziel!"

"Maybe he doesn't hear you, Dumah…Yell louder…Like this: RAZIEL! RAZIEL!"

I sighed in annoyance at the stupidity of my brothers who had disrupted my reading of The History of Nosgoth. I knew the only way to get them to quiet down would be if I answered their yells, as Raziel was…incapacitated.

I closed The History and placed it on the nearest stack of literature I had, as my room was filled with piles of books, then I got off of my bed and left, closing the door behind me. Unfortunately, the room right across from mine was my eldest brother Raziel's, and at the moment he was with one of his harem. I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting noises I heard coming from his chambers and quickly moved as far away from the sounds as possible.

I hated my brother. I hated him more than one would think possible. He was vile, cold hearted and sadistic, traits that were very common in a vampire, but Raziel had them to the extreme. And for some reason, this was seen as leadership material. Our master Kain had turned Raziel first, and I guess that somehow meant he was the most powerful, smartest and most handsome of the six of us. Maybe the last adjective was true, but looks did not mean anything to me.

The women of Nosgoth were irritating, and I saw no potential in any of them. The only few that I'd been slightly interested in had chosen Raziel over me and either joined his harem or were killed by him after he defiled them… No, books were better than women in my opinion.

I descended the large, twisting marble staircase down to the room my brothers and I gathered when our master called us, also the room that Turel and Dumah were shouting from. There they were, staring at me stupidly, but also looking apprehensive.

Turel was my height, with large ears, a ponytail and a constant smirk on his grey face and Dumah was the largest out of the six of us, but also the dumbest. He had large muscular arms and always looked angry, but those who knew him knew it was just his mind trying and failing to work.

"What are you two idiots shouting about?" I scowled, and instantly, they turned around and stood side by side, leaving no space between them as if they were hiding something. "What's behind you?" I asked suspiciously, but they weren't intimidated by me like they were with Raziel.

"Where is Raziel?" Turel asked me impatiently, looking up the stairs I'd just come down from, "We've got something for him." The two smiled at each other, knowing that if they were in good graces with Raziel, he would reward them with their pick from his harem and put the good word in to Kain. I was not one to suck up to anyone, especially not someone I hated intensely.

"Raziel is busy with a woman…You know it will be a while." I narrowed my eyes and tried to see beyond them, but they wouldn't move. "Just let me see what it is you two are keeping such a secret and I will go back to my room." I was starting to get extremely agitated that my brothers had no respect for me whatsoever, but I knew if I tried to get physical with them, I would get my ass handed to me. So I gave up and turned to head back up the staircase when I heard a small, weak voice from behind me.

"Ra...hab?" It was a girl's voice and it sounded familiar for some unknown reason…I did not talk to women much, let alone really remember their voices or faces, but this one stuck out in my head almost clearly…

My brothers exchanged clueless glances, wondering what they should do now that it was clear the "present" for my eldest brother knew me. I was already irritated, and though I was no match for Turel let alone Dumah, I did not care. I snarled at the two blankly staring idiots menacingly, "Move, you pathetic excuses for vampires!"

Surprisingly, they obeyed, clearing the way for me to see the girl they were hiding before they went up the spiral staircase, scowling all the way, most likely running to tell Raziel what had happened.

The girl definitely sparked a memory…but what was it? She was on her knees, wearing odd clothing that also seemed memorable – blue slacks made of some unknown material and a purple shirt with a hood attached to it…hardly clothes a woman should wear. Her large dark blue eyes were looking up at me dimly, and there was a small smile on her pale face that seemed forced…Her long, straight brown hair fell almost to her waist, and I had to admit, as strange as she was, I immediately felt a strong attraction to her.

"Who…who are you? You seem so familiar but…" I drifted off, extending my hand to the girl which she grabbed, her warm hand clasping my cold, dead one as she pulled herself up slowly.

"I'm Vera…I met you when you were a human. We were friends for like a day but then…" She grimaced with a shrug, and I normally would have asked her why but I was distracted by something else she had said.

"It cannot be true that you met me when I was human. I have served Kain 900 years. It's not possible for you to be alive unless you are a vampire." The concept excited me, but I could hear the beating of her heart and smell the blood flowing through her veins.

"Well…" Again she hesitated, which I would've found suspicious had I not been so drawn to her; however her next statement I could not ignore, "A time streamer bought me here. His name's-"

"You're friends with Moebius?!" I yelled in disbelief, feeling the attraction melt away to disgust unwillingly.

"You know him, too?!" Vera's deep blue eyes widened in shock before her face contorted to a look of sheer sadness, and soon tears were rolling down her cheeks, "Please don't hate me, too, Rahab but I just found out he's my dad! I really didn't know but it all makes sense! He made my mom pregnant, which is pretty disturbing by itself, but I don't want him to be my only family! Plus, I'm in love with this guy and... I thought I was made to save his life but it turns out Moebius made me to kill him…I mean, not only does that make everything I've ever thought a lie, like who my family was, what I'm meant for, why I was given powers, my only REAL relative is a guy everyone hates! Oh yeah, I forgot you don't know," She took my puzzled glance as a sign that I didn't know what it meant when she said she had 'powers,' "I'm a sorceress. And I know what you're thinking, 'why doesn't she just use her magic to just poof herself back to the time she was in? Moebius put her there but she can get herself out!' Wrong. I have a seal on my magic which is veeery strong when I need it most, apparently. And I can't wish for the seal to break, because when it does I'll be a mindless killing machine who wants to slaughter the guy I love!" She went from crying to glaring bitterly at the floor, a rather bizarre turn of emotions, but I was still processing what she had said…

She loved another man. That was what stuck out most in my head. Of course she would…She was beautiful, young, smart and different. All I wanted in a woman…

Wow, was I pathetic…I'd never let a girl get to me in all my life, and this one was Moebius' daughter! Moebius, the man who lead the human resistance against vampires… Well, it appeared as though Vera did not particularly care for him either so as far as I was concerned, my only true worry was her love- Oh no.

"Why hello there, younger brother!" Raziel's voice boomed loudly as he came down the stairs, a permanent sneer on his pale, handsome face. "Turel and Dumah alerted me to the fact that they found a present for me and you stole it from them! How selfish you are, Rahab!" His green eyes drifted from me to the girl hungrily, "And this must be my present! Hello, my pretty little gift!"

I was not scared, but seeing my brother getting closer and closer caused my body to tense in anticipation, because the only thing predictable about Raziel was the fact that he was so unpredictable.

Another jolt hit me. Vera hadn't seen Raziel before. Surely she would fall under his charm…I turned to her, expecting her to look at him with awe, like all the women did, but what I saw on her face surprised me…she looked at Raziel in what seemed like disgust and right then and there I would have kissed her, had my brother not shoved me to get face to face with her.

"Ok, first off, don't call me a gift or a present or anything weird like that. I'm Vera. Second, I have enough to worry about without you trying to charm my pants off…literally…And third, I'm not interested in you. You're handsome but so what? You're kind of a dick. And you didn't earn points with me as a human, either. Just cuze you're the best looking of your brothers doesn't mean you can have whatever you want." Vera crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at my brother in disinterest while my jaw almost dropped clean off my face. I could not believe she had rejected my eldest brother. As blissful as it made me, I knew it would have some consequences.

Raziel's face twisted in anger, but then it relaxed, and soon he was smirking again, "I do not know what Rahab told you about me but let me assure you, I will cater to your every whim, my lady." He bowed down in front of her, spewing nonsense in his effort to seduce the girl.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can tell just by looking at you that you want to drink my blood not 'cater to my whims'." Vera looked to me impatiently, "Rahab, can we try to figure things out somewhere else? I don't like being looked at like an all-you-can-eat-buffet."

That was it for Raziel. He shook with anger, then grabbed her by the shoulder with one hand and raised his other like he was going to smack her for her lack of respect. She flinched, squeezing her large eyes shut in anticipation and at that point I could not stand by and be a spectator anymore.

"You will NOT touch her! If she belongs to anyone she belongs to me!" I snarled, unbelieving of the words that came out of my own mouth. Still I feigned like I knew what I was doing, trying to come off as a confident and intimidating.

"Déjà vu…" Vera mumbled, and I gave her a puzzled expression, expecting her to elaborate. Instead, it was Raziel who responded first.

His lip turned up in a sneer and a hiss escaped his twisted mouth, but he let go of the girl and whirled around back toward the stairs, turning one last time to scowl at us both and utter the words, "Both of you will regret this."

"Here," I started, grabbing her arm after I heard the slam of Raziel's door, "I'll take you to my room. You'll be safer there."  
She was quiet as I lead her back up the stairs, staring blankly from my brother's door to me, and I wondered what could be going through her head at such a time.

"So, Rahab, have you ever slid down the railing? I mean, it seems like a lot of work going up and down those twisty steps constantly. It'd be so much cooler if you could glide!"

Alright, in the list of things I expected her to say, that was most definitely not on it…

I let go of her arm as she walked into my room, slowly closing the door behind me as I nervously thought of how to word what I wanted to say next, "I apologize for my brother's actions…And my own. It was wrong of me to say I owned you…I only said it to protect you…" I drifted off, trying to analyze her expression to see if she liked that I'd said she belonged to me or not.

She waved it off like it was nothing, which seemed to be her feelings on the matter, "Nah, it's fine. You were just trying to save me from Dracula over there."

I was slightly disappointed in her lack of interest in me, but I was not going to let that interfere with my curiosity, "How is it that you are not afraid of him? Or, as most women are, blinded by his beauty?" I was truly inquisitive about what her answer might be; her unpredictability interested me…

She did not get the time to answer.

As she opened her mouth to respond, my room suddenly begin to shake. Alarmed, I whirled around in a circle, looking for the culprit. I glanced to Vera, the self-proclaimed sorceress.

"It's not me!" She shrugged, looking somewhat nervous and confused, "My magic sucks!"

Suddenly, my room seemed to rip like a page in a book, and three dimensional objects became one as Moebius' staff came first through the tear in time…But it was not Moebius who wielded it.

The creature holding the staff was blue and skeletal, looking vaguely familiar to me, much like the girl had.

"Vera…Here you are…with him. So Moebius was not lying about the two of you…" The creature, sounding exactly like my eldest brother glowered at me, "Twice was not enough. I wish I could kill you now, again, where you stand."

"Brother?" I asked, in shock, trying to find the resemblance between this hideous monster and my monster of a brother. It was there…in the hair, the voice, and movement.

"Raz!" Vera ran to him, a gleam in her eye I had not seen when she spoke to me or my vampire brother…Was this the lover she had talked about before? It appeared to be so…But why would a girl like that be with a monstrous being such as this?

She tried to hug him, but he shoved her back rigidly.

"I know, Vera. I know it all. But this is not the place to discuss such things. We're going back to Janos' time. There we will handle this…situation." His voice sounded pained but it was obvious he was trying to hide it with a monotone…It was not working.

"You…you know?" Vera's voice became fearful and weak, "How do you feel about it?"

"Disgusted. Idiotic. Angry." He listed, getting louder with each word, making her cringe as if he had hit her.

"Hold on a minute," I started angrily, "What gives you the right to talk to her in such a way?"

His white eyes burned brightly in anger as he turned back to me, "You would do best to stay out of this conversation. If you were not of such use to me in the future I would have no problem killing you in an instant. Vera, come here NOW."

Vera, who now looked on the verge of tears, walked to him with her head hung low, "Thanks for everything, Rahab…" She turned to my apparent brother, "Raz, I'm sorry. You have to believe me, if I could change the past I would! I hate that things are the way they are but it's not my fault!"

The blue deformed Raziel shook his head in disgust at what she had said, grabbing her arm roughly as the staff glowed and the rip reappeared.

I had no idea what was going on between the two of them, but something told me I did not want to know.

As I watched the two of them go through to what I had assumed with the mention of Janos Audron was the past, I had a flurry of confusing thoughts…The clearest being that I hoped I had not seen the last of Vera the sorceress.

9


	6. A Challenge

Ok, so I don't own any of the LoK characters and blah blah blah! This story is my own so I KNOW THE REAL ONE. Please don't try to correct me because I know how things actually went in the game but I like to have fun and take creative liberties! Thanks!

A huge shout out the following people – Soultail Omega-Light – thank you for reading and reviewing my stories and writing me awersome messages , Littlevamp – for being so sweet, positive and funny, MorgannaVenus Persephone – for giving me smiles, advice and being like a sister to me. Thank you for all you do. And Lady of the Wilds, who inspired me to write when I was sure that the only people who liked my stuff were my friends. They are my closest friends on this site and I'm soo happy to have met them! Please check out their work as well because it is loads better than mine!

**Vera**

"How could you do this to me?!" Raziel yelled, dropping Moe's staff and tackling me to the ground as the Reaver appeared on his arm, which he then pointed at my face.

Personally, I didn't know why it was such a big deal to him…He hated me now, I knew he would, but he was acting like Moebius being my dad was MY fault!

"Raz, what the hell?!" Unfortunately, due to the dramatic nature of our reunion, tears were streaming down my face. It was embarrassing, but the way he looked at me and the things he said were totally uncalled for…

"You are a sick and twisted little girl! How dare you insult my intelligence and waste my precious time?!" He bellowed, pointing the sword closer to my face with angry bright white eyes.

What did he mean?! Just because I was Moe's daughter meant I was a waste of his time?! "You're acting like I knew about this the entire time! I'm just as new to this idea as you are! Now stop pointing your stupid sword arm thingy at me!" I tried to sit up, but he pushed his body harder into mine.

"You are a liar! Your father told me the truth! Kain SAW the truth! Now I want to hear it from your lips!" His forehead was so close to mine it was almost touching and I was already missing the sensitive way he'd touched me before, as if the slightest squeeze would break my bones. He certainly wasn't concerned about that now…

"I have no idea what you're talking about! What did Moebius tell you?! And Kain?! I thought you hated him!" Why had he suddenly gone from hating Kain AND Moebius to hating me?! I guess all I could do was tell him my side. "Ok, so whatever Mobius told you, he obviously wasn't so good at explaining…He made my mom pregnant with some sort of potion thingy…And he put a seal on me. Now, once the seal breaks, I turn into a mindless killing machine but until then I'm the Vera you know and love."

Raziel's eyes squinted as what I said fully sank in, "You…you are being completely honest with me? If you are not, I WILL find out." His face got even closer to mine, as if he could smell me lying.

"I can't keep a secret from anyone!" I grinned as he slowly got up and held his hand out to me. "You know me!" When I said this, he looked away again.

"I almost thought I didn't…Why were you with Rahab? Moebius told me that you two were involved…"

"What?!" I nearly choked when I heard the ridiculous idea, let alone the fact that Raz actually believed my 'dear old dad.' "No! Um, Raz, I thought I told you we were friends! He's a really nice guy, though. Why were you always treating him like crap? He didn't really do anything to you…" I really was curious, especially after my second encounter with him, but again, Raziel's eyes brightened up in anger.

"Why are you constantly defending him?! Did you ever care to ask what my side of the story was?!"

"Well…No, I guess not…Sorry, Raz…" I stared down at my feet in shame, "So, um, what is your side?"

He looked taken-a-back, then after a silence muttered, "…I was an egotistical maniac…"

"Ha! Told you!" I grinned as I poked him in the chest, not feeling bad at all anymore. "Now can we stop talking about Rahab and go back to New York?"

At the hopeful tone in my voice, Raziel cringed, "Actually, Vera, I was hoping we could make one more stop before going back to your home. I put us a few years farther in the past then we were before purposefully. You see, now that Janos has passed the only hope I have for answers is to turn to his son,Vorador."

"Janos has a son?!" I asked, mouth open in shock, still not believing the words coming from Raz's um…jawless face, "Who's the mom?!"

"…What? No one." He looked at me like I was an idiot, "Vampires are sterile. He turned Vorador years ago…His only spawn. They're relationship is like that of Kain and my brothers. We were his 'sons' even though he was not our father by blood."

"So…Did you ever have any 'kids'?" I asked, slightly worried about what I almost knew his answer would be after seeing his old vampire self.

"I…mostly turned women but those women changed children and men and such. I'm sorry…" His voice was guilt filled as he looked away from me and even though I wish I could've told him it didn't matter, I had a sort of sinking feeling in my stomach and I had no clue why.

There was a sort of awkward silence as I tried to think of something else to say, "Vorador, uh, Vorador lives close?"

"Yes." At the sound of the vampire's name, Raziel's face became determined again. "Come." He turned around and started walking away from me, his head down.

We walked in awkward silence for a while, until he stopped suddenly, "You know, Vera, no matter how many women I have had, I never loved any of them."

"Ok…?" I said quietly, my tone implying that he was crazy for saying that, even though it made me feel good.

"And you also know that none of those girls would go near me now that I am the way I am…You did not even flinch when you saw me." His voice became soft and emotional, the way I liked best even if it made things awkward. We began walking again.

"Well, of course not! You saved me. Plus blue isn't even that scary of a color. AND your hair is like, perfectly styled!" I grinned slowly, shrugging. He kept mentioning the fact that he was this hideous creature but I honestly didn't think he was that bad. Maybe it was because I had gotten used to him…it also could've been that I'd read a lot of scary stories when I was a kid. Either way, there was no way he could seem scary to me, "Yeah, so about Moe's staff. You kind of just left it there on the ground. Should I have taken it?"

"No. He will most likely have it in his posssion again by tonight. I'm sure he used his basin to find its whereabouts and will send a search team out to get it back for him. It was not much use to me after I found you."

"Oh." I responded shortly, not knowing or caring what Moebius' basin was. "So," I started again, desperate to make other conversation before it got awkward again, "Is Vorador as nice a Janos was?

Raz cringed slightly, giving me my answer. Still, I was sure he couldn't have been that bad! "He absolutely hates humans." Oh. I guess that was pretty bad.

"Ok, so, what does that mean for me? Do sorceresses still count as humans or should I be waiting outside when you talk to him?"

"Well…" Raziel's discomfort seemed to be getting more and more pronounced as he tried to get out the words he was thinking, "Vorador does have a weakness in women. I was hoping he would spare you because you are with me. Just tone down some of your personality."

"What do you mean by that?!" I shouted, as we came to a fortress that I assumed was Vorry's.

"Instances like this. When you do not like what you hear, you tend to become very loud and unlady-like. Vorador likes women who are agreeable." This time Raziel shrugged, like it was no big deal he just insulted me.

I would show him! Vorador was going to be so into me and Raz would regret ever talking bad about his girlfriend!

Raz opened the door to the fortress, and for a minute I thought he was going to extend an apology by holding it open for me, but as I started to walk in, he shoved himself in first.

"It is safest for me to lead the way. I could not stand the idea of you getting hurt in the least bit while you're in my company."

"It's not like you'd really care anyway…" I mumbled to myself with a glower, fuming slightly at the insult and shove I had now received from the impatient blue wraith.

We walked again in silence; me because I was angry and Raziel because he was taking his surroundings in, always on defense.

The narrow hallway was quiet, a lot different than the Sarafan headquarters and vampire's castle. It actually filled me with more suspense to not have any noises around us, but the feeling soon disappeared as we came into a larger room with a single woman in it.

This woman was beautiful, with long flowing brown hair like mine and shimmering brown eyes. Her face was flawless and her body was way more filled out than mine, making me self conscious and bitter toward her right away. Raziel looked at her with a confused expression on his face, and I was grateful to see he wasn't checking her out.

The woman first looked Raz up and down in horror before lifting her gaze just a little higher, to seem confident without having to look at him. "You seek Vorador, creature? What is your business with him?"

Raz stepped forward, pushing me behind his back in what I hoped was an attempt to protect me, not look single, "Yes. I only wish to speak with him. I sought answers first from Janos but his unfortunate death gave me nothing. I was hoping Vorador would be able to help me with such questions."

The woman nodded patiently, now looking at me, "It is the rule of my master to take any woman that comes into the castle. She will be either considered for his harem or…let go." The way she said the last two words I doubted they let any girls Vorador didn't want just walk out the door again.

I expected Raziel to flip; to draw the Soul Reaver and take down this chick here and now, but instead he just nodded, "Alright."

"Say whaaaaaaaat?!" I asked in disbelief, whipping Raziel around to stare him dead in the face, in case maybe he had some hidden plan he wasn't telling me about.

His hands rested on my shoulders as he began talking to me in a quiet, confident tone, "Vera, there must be many, many creatures in this building. You will be safest with the harem. Besides, it is not in their best interest to harm you until Vorador gets a good look at you. Do not worry, though, by that time, I will already have spoken with him and have gotten you back."

"What do you mean, 'don't worry'?! Are you implying that Vorador won't want me?"

Raziel's eyes dimmed as he realized he'd angered me again, "Vera, you must understand…Vorador has a certain type. You are about as far from that type as you can imagine. It is not your fault though, you are not from Nosgoth. Your clothes, manners and actions are just not what he is interested in. Besides, this is not an issue. I will inform him that you belong to me and he will give you back before it gets to that point."

"Yeah, but Raz there shouldn't be a 'that point'. I'm your girlfriend! You should think I'm the hottest girl there is!"

"Why, do you have a fever?" In alarm, Raz put a hand to my forehead. I slapped it off.

"No, I do NOT have a fever! I mean, you should think other guys want me!" I snarled, putting my hands on my hips angrily as I narrowed my eyes. I could be pretty intimidating when I wanted to be.

"Vera, I am in no mood for your games. I must go speak to Vorador. Please allow me to do this quickly. You will be completely safe with the harem as long as you make no mention of Moebius. I promise you it will not be long. Know that you will always be on my mind and in my heart." He quickly and awkwardly hugged me before pushing me lightly toward the woman. "If she is returned to me with even the smallest of scratches on her, you _will_ regret it."

Returned. Like I was some sort of item that belonged to him! And that scratch thing? What, was I a CD or something?! And what did he mean, my games?! Ugh, he was sooo gunna regret this!

The woman nodded, taking me by the arm and directing me toward a door on the right side of the room. "To reach my master you must go through that door and continue on." She pointed to the door on the opposite side of the room from us, "Be wary, creature. Only the truly deserving survive by the time they reach Lord Vorador."

Raziel disregarded her, heading toward the door without a response. Before entering, he turned around and nodded at me once. I scowled back.

"Now, young one, what is your name?" The woman finally spoke as we headed through our doorway and down a heavily candle lit hall.

"Vera." I responded shortly, jealous again of her soft and beautiful voice. She really was gorgeous, and in a lot of ways she looked like she could've been my older, better looking sister. I hated that feeling. Between Lily and Ayla I was always the least successful, the least pretty and the least smart to my family.

"I'm Luminia." She smiled brightly, letting go of my arm as she looked me up and down, "Vorador will keep you ,I'm sure of it, so do not fear death. I picked up very little of what that wraith was trying to say to you, but he appeared to try and comfort you while you were upset. There is nothing to worry about." Her smile faded slightly, "If you don't mind me asking, why is a young girl such as yourself with a monster such as that?"

"Raziel's not a monster. He's just a jerk." I shrugged carelessly, "Now, about this harem thing…Even though I'd love to make Raziel jealous, I'm not too comfortable with the idea of me and Vorador…doing stuff." I uncharacteristically blushed a little, embarrassed as I thought about how at sixteen I'd still never kissed a guy. I guess I was hoping that even though Raz was jawless he'd still be my first kiss…

"Hmm…" Luminia bit her lip in nervousness, "Vorador does not take kindly to women disobeying him, especially if it is a refusal to bed with him. I can try to put it off until your…um…lover has talked to him but I cannot guarantee success. Just remember that as much as you don't want to do something, your life is too valuable to refuse."

The hallways stretched on and on, zig-zagging like crazy with several doors on both sides of the walls. I guessed they were the rooms of other members of Vorador's harem. That mixed with the thing Luminia had just said made my stomach sink in fear. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be here for five minutes let alone however long it was going to take Raziel to find and talk to Vorador.

Luminia must have noticed my fearful and pained expression because she put her hand on my shoulder, "You know, perhaps this isn't all bad. Maybe you can get Vorador to change you. That way your wraith won't have to worry about you dying all the time. Humans are very weak creatures and I'm sure he goes through much to keep you from getting harmed. If you were a vampire, you'd make it easier for the both of you."

Me, a vampire? I'd never even considered it…That would be pretty cool. I wonder if it would stop my seal from breaking?

Before I could think about it any more, three women ran up to us, immideiately touching my hair, face and clothes.

"Oooh! It's been so long since we've had a new girl!"

"She looks like she could be your little sister, Luminia! Lord Vorador will love that!"

"Her clothes are sooo odd!"

"She smells so good! Can we get a taste?"

Luminia laughed as the girls surrounded me, but I didn't see what was so funny. I pushed them all off, backing up to avoid their long, pointed nails and probing hands. They giggled even more.

"Girls, this is Vera. If things go well for her, she won't be here very long. Vera, this is Tonya," She pointed to the first, who had glowing green eyes, black hair pulled back with a pink bow and a mischievous smile, "Beatrice," The shortest girl of the group, who was my height, had flowing blonde hair and hazel eyes, "And Renowan." She waved at me while beaming, her shoulder length red hair reflected off the candle light.

Ok, maybe this situation wasn't as bad as I thought… They seemed nice…for vampires. But I still hadn't met Vorador.


	7. Raziel's Decisions Are ALWAYS Legit

Ok, so I don't own any of the LoK characters and blah blah blah! This story is my own so I KNOW THE REAL ONE. Please don't try to correct me because I know how things actually went in the game but I like to have fun and take creative liberties! Thanks!

A huge shout out the following people – Soultail Omega-Light, Littlevamp, lady of the wilds, Grizz and soulhunting shewolf! MorgannaVenus Persephone, thank you for all you do! You're like a sister to me! =) They are my closest friends on this site and I'm soo happy to have met them! Please check out their work as well because it is loads better than mine! And take a look at Voyseys's stuff, too! She and her stories rock!

**Raziel**

I was worried sick about Vera, but it really was safer for her there with the women than it was to have to fight off all of these hideous monsters with me.

Still, my mind was swirling as I fought and killed several creatures, not paying much attention to any hits that they got in or any hits I gave them. I didn't know if I was in pain, angry or solemn. I just knew for a fact I wasn't happy.

My powerful intellect was no match for puzzles, figuring people out or virtually anything else. Yet with Vera I was completely in the dark. I didn't know how to prevent her seal from breaking, what Vorador had in store for us or why Rahab was so damn interested in her.

I suppose I owed my brother for keeping my love safe, yet the look in his eye showed me that he wasn't just doing it out of the goodness of his heart. He was head over heels infatuated with her… And that filled me with rage. If I was a vampire it would not affect me at all and yet as a wraith I was a disgusting _thing._ How could Vera not want to be with a vampire who romanced her and protected her from the confident being that was myself before the Abyss? No matter how hard I tried, I could not get my younger brother's mocking face out of my mind.

In my fuming rage I ripped out the heart of a monstrous fiend that thought it could sneak up from behind. It fell as I squeezed my claws into its squishy organ, blood oozing from the holes I had punctured into it.

I was going to have to suppress my rage for Vorador. He was quite the humbling creature, one that appeared to be impossible to intimidate by anyone or anything…I took that as a challenge.

But…when I did get Vera back, what was there to do? How could this work, her and I? All we did was argue, yet the passion inside the place where my heart should have been burned intensely for her…

I needed to keep my mind focused. Vorador. Of course, information was the whole reason I began this quest…it was the reason I lived and breathed. Then why did it feel as though love was my purpose? I shook my head, disgusted with myself. Yes, I cared about Vera but I'd allowed myself to get sidetracked for too long. I would not go with her back to her home as promised. She appeared to not need my safety if returning to her… New York, was it? But what if her seal returned and she could not make it back? What if she did not want to make it back when she saw how good she had it…if she met someone…a normal human man that she was so deserving of?

…No. I would not allow myself to be sentimental. I would have to tell her that I could not go with her and that my search was to be continued alone.

How do you tell that to a girl that will not take no for an answer?

**Vera**

"Her only flaw, my lord, is that she is human." Luminia stood me up before Vorador, who was seated on a throne. We were in the middle of a large stone room, hundreds of girls from his harem against the wall staring intently at me, some licking their lips.

Needless to say, I was uncomfortable.

But holy crap did I totally not expect him to be all green and icky looking! Janos was at least handsome in an exotic way but Vorador was disgusting! He was totally bald with huge pointed green ears like a rabbit and weird beard things on his chin. How he got all these chicks is what I wanted to know!

He waved his arm at me in disinterest, "Yes, yes, she is beautiful, but she bears a striking resemblance to you, Luminia. Now why would I want another one of you to feed and clothe when I already have one to satisfy me?"

"Well…I…uh…" Luminia's eyes widened in fear as she looked to me. I guess she hadn't seen this coming…she didn't have an argument. With one final glance at me, she bowed her head in resignation, at a loss for words. I decided it was my turn to talk.

With my hands on my hips and brow raised I began, "Listen, Vory, I really don't think you're in a position to judge. I mean, look at you! Your face looks like a bad Halloween mask!"

As soon as I finished, the room gasped. I looked around, hoping for at least one of the girls to be smiling at my joke…I mean, it _was_ comedy gold…but no. I looked to Luminia, who had a single tear sliding down her cheek. Jeez, vampires and their lack of humor was really starting to get on my nerves.

With a look of shock and anger, Vorador stood from his chair, "I do not know what this Halloween is but an ignorant human such as you should at least have the intelligence to know not to speak to me in such a tone." He walked slowly in an attempt to make me more fearful and on edge, but I was so not buying it. What was the worst he could do? Since I looked like Luminia he was already gunna have me killed, so why not give him a piece of my mind before my life was over? Besides, if I was lucky, I could distract him long enough for Raz to get here.

"Look, Grinchy, I understand that you don't like the Who's down in Whoville, but the thing is, I'm not afraid of you. So give me your worst, cuze nothing could be as bad as looking like you!" As he came closer to me, I took a step toward him, curling my hands into fists.

"…You do not act like Luminia. You do not act in any way I've ever seen a woman behave before. Alright. I will keep you. Tonight, you will be changed and officially become part of my harem. I do recommend you find some respect for me, however. I'd imagine your constant disregard for everyone and everything could get infuriating. Luminia, take her to your quarters and get her out of those hideous garments. I will visit you by the night's end, young Vera. After that you will not be a human…or a girl…anymore." With an arrogant smile, Vorador returned back to his throne as Luminia led me away with a relieved expression.

Wait…what did he mean about the not being a girl any…?

EWWWWW!

**Raziel**

I approached Vorador's throne with caution, looking around the large stone room. I sensed that it had been previously occupied minutes before, but by whom? Was it possible that I had just missed Vera?

"Come forward, creature. State your name and tell me…What is it you need from me?" Vorador's booming voice echoed in the room, but I was not impressed.

"First things first, Vorador. I am Raziel. You have something that belongs to me. A girl. A _human_ girl. Give her to me at once and then we can return to the real reason I'm here." I resisted the urge to threaten the vampire, knowing it would do no good, but glowered at him, preparing to draw the Reaver if necessary.

"Vera? Oh…what a shame. I planned on turning her tonight. She really is something else, you know. What does a fiend like you need her for anyway?" The vampire did not seem to be offset by me in the least…However his comment invoked yet another flood of rage.

Turn her? I had not even considered that he would do such a morbid thing! How naïve of me…And the fact that he was even going to keep her surprised me as well. I was never so ill prepared in my life…

"Vera belongs to me. It is not up for discussion. Now bring her here, you arrogant fool." I snapped, having to look away or I'd have killed him on the spot.

"It is not necessary to be so hostile. I'll have her brought out momentarily…but allow me to turn her, creature. Think about it – you would never have to worry of her dying…She could help you in your quest instead of trailing behind like a lost pet. And eventually, when she tires of your company, she could return to me again. How does that sound? It would be doing both of you a favor."

"It is simply out of the question, Vorador! She will never be one of you!" I shouted as anger flickered across the old vampire's face.

"Is it so terrible a fate? Would you rather her be dead or look like _you_?" He pounded his fist on his chair's arm rest and I knew if we both continued pushing our beliefs we would get nowhere. I swallowed my anger reluctantly.

"Please. Just…bring her out."

He studied me for a few moments in silence, then grinned, "Sure. But here is the catch. Choose, Raziel; The girl or information." He seemed as though this decision would be hard for me. Indeed it almost was. But this proved to me yet again that I could not continue on with Vera by my side. She was my only weak point; something others could use to extort things from me…

"You know my answer." I stood unwavering, not letting him see my agitation… that would only bring him pleasure.

"What a shame. Luminia?" The woman Vera and I had seen at our descent into this hellhole again showed herself the instant Vorador called for her. "Bring Vera here. Some…thing is here to see her."

The woman smiled hugely upon seeing me again…Vera must have told her about me coming back for her.

Though I despised vampires this one I did not mind. I could sense no evil from her...only kindness and motherly concern. She disappeared and returned quickly with Vera, but something was different about her.

I gasped in awe of the girl, now wearing a beautiful long and flowing red dress. I barely recognized her. In my vampire days, I would have been proud to have such a beautiful girl in my harem. I could see why Vorador had trouble giving her up. In fact, when she didn't open her mouth, she looked as though she fit perfectly in Nosgoth. I could not tear my eyes away from her, falling even deeper into the depths of love.

"This dress is totes bunching up near my butt…It's giving me major wedgies but there's no real way to subtly pick…Oh! Hey, Raz!" At the sight of me, Vera ran away from her superior harem member, something she would've been surely punished for had she remained in Vorador's grasp.

Her arms wrapped around my neck and suddenly I forgot everything; my worries, where I was, who I was…everything.

And then it came flooding back. I slowly pushed her away from me, unable to look into her shinning eyes because of the guilt I felt.

"Vera there's something I have to talk to you about…" I started softly but upon seeing Vorador's and his lover's gaze on us, I stopped, "but first we must get out of here. Vorador. Have her show us the alternate exit." I indicated to Luminia, refusing, out of habit, to call her by name. The two vampires exchanged glances and with a nod from her master, she led us back down the hall where she had appeared with Vera previously.

When we were vampires, we never saw our harem as individuals, only sexual pleasures or challenges; which one of us could find the prettiest girl and destroy her innocence?

I shuddered to myself as this woman bought back memories I would much rather have had hidden…

A sudden and rough jabbing to my arm brought me back to reality, "HEY. Guess who was wrong about Vorador wanting me." Quite inappropriately, Vera stuck her tongue out at me, continually jamming my body with her fingers. "I'm all sexy in this outfit, admit it!"

I turned my head away from her in embarrassment, not wanting to admit my true feelings…not wanting to tell her how very beautiful she was to me. "…You are very lucky Vorador decided to keep you. If I had come when I did and he hadn't wanted you it would have been too late…I would not have been able to save you from death as it appears I must do every half hour or so."

I realized I was being harsh with her, but I needed to make things easier for me…and for her when I told her to go back to New York. I cringed as soon as I said it, expecting her to raise her voice in outrage.

In fact, I saw her eyes narrow and mouth open, but Luminia interrupted her, "Creature, if you would allow me to speak out of turn, Vera is not_ just_ lucky to have been accepted by my master. He enjoyed her abrasive personality…He found it refreshing and new. And the others and I did wondrous things to an already beautiful girl with the dress. I believe it is _you_ who is lucky."

"Owned." Vera said shortly, something I did not understand, nor did Luminia, who glanced to her with a confused expression, but then nodded as though they were on the same page. "Hear that, Raz? YOU'RE lucky to have ME!" A sly smile came across her perfect lips and I once again felt a pang of regret that she would not be accompanying me any longer. She was right. I was lucky. Instead of continuing the conversation, I looked away.

"That's it? No crappy comeback? Or apology? Man, you got boring while I was gone!" With an annoyed look on her face, Vera crossed her arms over her chest, finally silent for once in her life. I suppose when no one gave her a reaction she had no reason to continue on with her disruptive attitude…I wish I had known that earlier.

"Here is the exit." The vampire stopped in front of the very last door opening it for us and exposing the outside. From the corner of my eye, I saw her studying me, likely wondering what Vera saw in me. I was still trying to figure that out as well.

Vera's eyes widened as she stared at the door, "Wait a minute, so anyone that wants to leave can just…leave? It's not locked or anything?"

"No. Why would anyone want to leave? We all love Lord Vorador and he presents us with the finest of clothing and accessories. We are all close. We are all family. Of course, he asks that you do not leave within a month's time. No rash decisions should be made that you will definitely regret later."

Yes, the girls would regret it later…Vorador would hunt them down and make sure of that.

"Well…thanks for everything." Vera said with a smile as we both exited the fortress for hopefully the first and last time. "Let's get as far away from here as possible, 'K?" She muttered walking as fast as I've ever seen her move.

"Wait, Vera." She stopped and turned around, looking at me in confusion. I think for once in the girl's life she was slightly shaken up from her vampire experience. "We are safe here, don't worry. And we will leave the area soon. But first…We have to talk."

She groaned, now back to her old self as she rolled her eyes, "Can we do that after we go to New York? I'm starting to think we're never gunna get there!"

"…That is what this is about. Please…sit down for a moment."


	8. The Stupid Sorceress And Vicious Vampire

**Vera**

"YOU WHAT?" I shouted in an uproar, jumping up from the ground as soon as Raziel made his announcement.

Who did he think he was, ditching me out of the blue like that? I should've known he was a selfish jerk who only wanted to go where he wanted! And dumping me when I was wearing this awesome dress? How could he? I didn't think it was possible! I looked smokin'!

"I'm sorry, Vera, but my decision is final. Perhaps one day…we will meet again." He turned away from me in his attempt to be dramatic but I wasn't buying that crap.

"Don't pull that 'my decision is final' stuff with me! After all that we've been through announcing our love and whatever to agreeing Moebius sucks and saving each other's lives and you just wanna leave me behind?"

He cringed at what I said but I didn't feel bad. I was pissed! He deserved feeling bad, the

"If you want me gone THAT bad then fine! Bye!" I yelled, stomping my foot down on the ground in anger. I'd meant to turn around and start walking away but then turn back and keep yelling but I felt my world warp around me. My vision became blurred and I got super dizzy, spinning as my hair whipped in the wind.

When I landed, it was face first onto a purple carpeted floor, one that looked very familiar. My eyes widened as I jumped up, realizing where I was. The walls were purple as well, with little butterfly shaped mirrors and a huge corkboard covered in little magazine picture collages and ones of various people I knew quite well. It was my old room. Before we moved to Nosgoth.

I guess in my anger my magic must've taken my bluff seriously. Ohhh, crap. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to make myself go back to Nosgoth but it wasn't happening. I didn't get to finish yelling at Raz…or to properly say goodbye…

I felt tears well up at the corners of my eyes but then shook them away. This was what Raz wanted. So I was going to wait here until he came begging to take me back…somehow.

"Lily? Are you in here? We heard a thud and- Vera?" My mom stared, mouth open in shock at me. I knew I looked hot but she was definitely overreacting! "I thought I'd never see you again! Moebius said…"

"Moebius is a perverted old dude liar!" I glared at the mention of the name of the guy who tricked my parents, something I was never going to tell them. I just couldn't bear telling them that they weren't my real parents…

It _was_ good to see my mom though whether she was my real mom or not; the few days I'd been away from my family had seemed like months.

"Don't say that, Vera! He told us you were being held captive by a dangerous blue monster and that he was trying to save you! He said it was a matter of time before it…it killed you." Her voice cracked as she looked up at me then pulled me into a tight bone crushing hug. "He showed it to us with his staff."

In that moment of affection I felt like things were back to normal. I mean, the only things that could possibly kill me here were a) my mom's iron bending hugs or b) one of my crazy Vera schemes that I had already survived 16 years of.

"No, Raziel was my friend. He was never gunna kill me! But…that doesn't matter now. I'm here to stay." I didn't know how I felt saying that, but I guess I didn't have to feel any way…My time in Nosgoth was done and I was back to being…normal. Well, as normal as only I could be.

"That's wonderful news! Your dad and I have been worried sick and Lily's…been glad to be back here." Nice. Well, I didn't miss Queen Lily while I was gone, either. "And Ayla was very sad to hear that you hadn't come back with us! Of course, that's what Laura told me…I guess Ayla's been deathly sick since last night. Some lunatic claiming to be a vampire came into her room! Well, she had time enough to call the police on her cell phone by her bed, thank god! You should go see her after you say hi to your dad. He's in the kitchen."

She let go of me and kissed me on the cheek, which I promptly wiped off. She left me on my own to change into some normal clothes; a light blue pair of ripped jeans and a green Fall Out Boy T-shirt before I walked out of my room and down the stairs to the kitchen, where my dad sat staring intently watching the living room TV. Why he didn't just sit down on the couch in the living room? A question I gave up asking years ago.

"Vera! Good to have you alive and home." He nodded once at me before returning his gaze back to whatever Make It Or Break It TV show my sister always had on. Seriously, my dad probably knew how to do every cheerleading move on the planet just from watching these dumb shows 24/7. "Lily, your sister's back."

"I'm not an only child anymore? Ugh, I hate this family!" Lily turned around from the sofa to glare at me, "You ruin everything, Vera!"

This was my welcome home. Wasn't I lucky? "I promise I won't get in your way, Princess." I snapped, storming to the door and slamming it closed behind me. It seemed like no one was grateful to have me in their lives…Well, at least Ayla recognized my greatness and wanted to spend time with me.

I walked across the street to my cousin's house and helped myself right in. Family was family and Aunt Laura and Uncle Rick were usually doing something like kayaking in the Adirondacks or whatever. They loved adventure and that was the problem – just about every weekend they took Ayla, the only person in the world that thought I was cool, on some stupid family thing. So I was running a gamble coming here but after last night's attack I was guessing the family took a break from the travel. Then again, nothing could slow them down.

"Hello?" I yelled, walking through the super neat white living room with a flat screen TV and several family pictures of the three of them with their huge model smiles. "Ayla?"

It was weird though, because usually all the lights were bright and inviting but now they were off. Kinda creepy.

But what was I afraid of? I'd seen vampires, creepy dog things and Raziel! I was a pro! With new found confidence I strutted to Ayla's room, whose door was mysteriously closed and locked.

"Anyone in there? Ayyyyla! Come out!" I knocked just in case she hadn't heard my yelling and I think it worked. I heard the door slowly unlock and crack open.

Ooook. Weird reaction from my 24/7 happy cousin. Well, maybe she turned Goth. Though the possibility of that was so unbelievable, I almost laughed thinking of it.

I slowly poked my head in and reached for the light switch on the side of the wall. Immediately, I heard a hiss from the corner which seemed to come from my cousin's lips. She…had definitely seen better days. Her usual shimmering golden brown hair was dull and messy and she looked at least two shades paler than normal…Her hazel eyes had giant bags under them and she was huddled in the corner with red all over her mouth and a squirrel in her hands…oh god.

"Ayla…? Um…you're a vampire, aren't you?" I cringed, knowing that it was completely my fault that she was like this. "Listen, uh, this is kind of all my fault sooo…I'm sorry."

For those that don't know me by now, sorry is a very hard word to get out of my mouth because, let's face it, I'm always right. Ayla knew I had trouble saying it and yet as I was talking she was covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut, her groaning getting slowly louder and louder. And people said _**I**_ was immature and annoying!

"Your pulse is beating in my brain! I can't get it to stop! I just want to…end it! Vera, get out! Talk to me…talk to me through the door! Distract me!" My cousin was writhing, digging her nails into a nearby desk. I could hear it crack under her new strength and knew it would soon be my body cracking if I didn't get on the other side of that door. So I did what she said.

"You need a distraction? Uh…all your family portraits out here are weird and so are you! I mean, who's _friends _with their parents?" I raised my eyebrow at the picture I was face to face with on the wall next to Ayla's room. The three of them dressed as medieval peasants and my uncle in one of those old time stock thingys, his hands and head sticking out of the wooden device. Gag.

"Oh, Vera, it was so terrible! I had to yell at them to leave without me! We've been planning this trip to the New York City for days and we were so excited for it! But then this happened!" Though Ayla's voice was muffled, I knew she was on the verge of tears. I felt bad, but I was also surprised. I didn't know vampires could cry…I thought they were like robots or something. "And Vera how are you not surprised? You just found out vampires are real and I _am _one and all you make fun of my family pictures?"

Oh boy. This was going to be fun explaining. "Ok. Well here's the deal. You know my family moved out of the blue to some random place that's not even on this planet. After that, I ran away because it was boring as heck and I can't take my family for five minutes let alone however long we were going to be forced to stay there! Anyway, I met this guy and we went on adventures and I learned I was a sorceress with a seal on my magic so it barely works when I need it to and it works when I don't want it. So, yeah, this vampire guy was about to attack me and my life flew by in my head because I thought I was gunna die. Well, I was thinking about you and the vampire sort of got sent here accidentally…My magic is really unpredictable. I checked on you but you seemed fine…I saw him getting arrested. But I didn't know this was going to happen. And I'm sorry. Again." I bit my lip, expecting her to break through the door and snap my neck faster than I could say 'dead' but there was nothing but silence.

"You…you didn't mean to, Vera. It's alright. But do you think you could help me try to control myself? If you're a sorceress maybe there's something you could do?"

Good ol' forgiving Ayla. I breathed a sigh of relief before answering. "I'll try. Tell your parents when they get back that you're staying at my place. I know school's going on and all that but I'm gunna tell my mom I went through traumatic experiences and I need time to heal. And you just say you're sick but you missed me so you wanted to be sick with the best person in the world, ok? I promise, you'll be better in a week or less! Let's just…clean your face off first."

"Alright. And don't think you're off the hook about this guy you mentioned. I wanna find out exactly how he makes you feel!"

Leave it to Ayla. Even as a vampire she still wants to be a psychiatrist. I guess she could always get her customers to pay in blood…?

**Ayla**

I shivered to myself, rubbing at my cold skin with my even colder hands and feeling no relief. I had a bad feeling about this…

Sure, Vera was a sorceress, but I didn't know how she planned on containing my ever growing hunger. Not to mention ever since we were young Vera's 'ideas' didn't usually have a happy ending. But I trusted my cousin more than anyone; her heart was in the right place and her enthusiasm for everything she did was genuine.

I just didn't know how long I could go without sucking her blood from her still-living body.

It wasn't fair! None of this was! I longed to be back with my parents who, even though they were right across the street, were growing farther and farther away by the second. I wouldn't be able to see them like this! I still felt love, for Vera and for them, but my hunger was stronger. I almost cried as I thought about all I would miss. Being out in the sun burned and I knew if I stayed out for an extended period of time, it'd be the end of me. There goes being caption of the track team two years in a row…

"First plan of action, Ayla! I'll use my magic to fill the bathtub with blood! You'll drink so much you'll get sick of it and never want it again! Come on!" Vera nearly ran to the bathroom, her self-satisfied smile growing bigger and bigger as she grew closer to the door.

"Something about this doesn't seem right." I argued quietly, but the idea of a whole tub filled with food made my mouth water. Though the new predator instinct in me was disappointed I couldn't hunt and kill something with a pulse and listen to it slowly fade as I sucked it's life from it, the human in me was happy I wouldn't have to kill another innocent rabbit or squirrel again.

"Huh…" Vera stated as she tilted her head to the side in confusion. It seemed the tub only filled itself a quarter of the way up. "I wonder why it's not…"

My cousin didn't get time to finish. She paled and fell to the ground with a loud thud. I stared in shock, wondering what to do but the blood called to me more intensely than anything I had ever experienced. In one of my least proud moments, I turned away from my cousin and relieved my hunger.

"We'll…try…again…tomorrow." Vera gasped weakly from the floor of her bathroom, but I was barely listening anymore.

"Ok, I don't know why I reacted like that to my magic. Usually I get tired but that…that was weird. Thanks for carrying me to my bed last night…AFTER you finished drinking the blood." Vera glared at me in annoyance, making me cringe. I already felt bad about the situation and her constant reminders only made me more upset. I had no control over my instincts…Well, that wasn't true. I didn't do anything to Vera yet which I was incredibly grateful for but I was already hungry again.

"Ok, I've got another plan! Um…Let's put red dye in water and trick your mind! We'll go Chris Angel on your ass!"

I didn't know how much longer I could go on like this.

**Vera**

It'd been a week, but no dice. Ayla still really wanted me dead and she was ruining my closet door trying to distract herself from my deliciousness with her now claw like fingernails. I was running out of ideas. Actually, I still had one.

"Ayla, I can't do this. But I know someone who can. Get out of my closet." This was definitely the best of all my plans to try and train my vampire cousin.

She nervously came out, body shaking from ignoring her instincts to pounce on me. I took it as a compliment that all vampires I'd met wanted to drink my blood. I must've smelled pretty good and hey, no one buys meat unless it looks good either! But it was still admittedly scary as heck trying to sleep at night with her either in my closet or out hunting for small rodents.

"Ok, now insult me." I said simply, even though I knew it would be hard for the nicest girl alive to say something mean. Not to mention as far as I knew I had no flaws.

She looked confused, momentarily distracted from her want to kill me. "Vera, how will that help anything?"

"Just do it." I snapped, rolling my eyes. Even as a bloodsucking soulless vampire she was still a softee!

"Ok…I guess…Your room is a little too purple. It momentarily blinds me every time I look at it…"

"Wrong. My room is awesome. Everyone knows that. Now say something honest! Insult me from the heart like you mean it!" I crossed my arms over my chest in a bored fashion. I guess it was impossible. Maybe I was too perfect to insult.

"Well…your ego is kind of big. I mean, it suites you very well but I just think that maybe it could be a little smaller." She lifted her hand and pinched together her index finger and thumb indicating how much smaller it could've been.

But what did she mean by THAT? My ego was fine! No, my ego was better than fine; it was amazing! She didn't know anything!

I felt my anger flare up and I knew my powers were once again working. Quickly I wrote a note to my parents explaining where we were going and then grabbed my poor cousin with a false sense of reality.

We were going back to Nosgoth to visit a friend.

**Rahab**

Boredom. The ultimate Hell. It had been a month since the beautiful sorceress had graced me with her presence and yet my brothers were still punishing me for my insubordinate actions. They'd burned all my books…all except my journal. But why go back and read my pathetic mentions of the girl I was never going to see again? The one that belonged to some hideous form of my eldest brother?

I shook my head at my stupidity. Why was I obsessed her? Because she did not succumb to my brothers charms? Because she was different than any other girl I had met the acquaintance of? Either way did it matter? I would never get the chance to tell her how I felt because the chances of me seeing her again were so minimal.

"And heeeeeere we are! I'm getting good at this transport thing!" With her arms on the shoulders of another girl, Vera once again appeared in my room. It was as if my thoughts had been heard. She turned around and waved at me with a smile, "Hey, Rahab! This is my cousin, Ayla. She was just turned into a vampire and I was hoping you could help train her to act…more like you."

She spewed this out as if I had just seen her minutes ago, throwing information at me quickly and casually; her usual way of talking. I was thoroughly confused.

Vera's cousin shyly and curiously peeked over at me from behind Vera, though she was slightly taller than her relative. She was radiant, though she looked heavily distressed, a real beauty with a genuine look about her. I could not say she was prettier than the sorceress; they were attractive in different ways, but Ayla had a goddess look about her, something I could not draw my eyes away from.

"Why me?" I asked, hoping against hope that the girl had missed me and was using this as an excuse to see me again.

Vera rose an eyebrow at me, "Umm because you're the coolest (and only) vampire I've ever had the joy of being friends with! D'UH."

Disappointment. I sighed, about to decline, however, I could not help feeling sorry for the newly turned girl. And I suspected I was still under the sorceress' spell, for I did not want to see her upset if I turned down her favor.

"You are a fledgling, then? I do not know how you're making it without killing Vera right now. You must be very strong then…This should only take one to two weeks." I studied the girls; Vera who was grimacing and slowly moving farther away from her deadly cousin and Ayla, who looked apprehensive but appreciative.

"Thank you." She spoke, her voice surprisingly sweet for a vampire. There was no malice or lust in it, the usual for any bloodsucking fiend such as myself or my brethren.

"Yeah, it's totally appreciated, Rahab, but here's the thing. We don't have that time. I have no clue how close we are to Raziel's death and all the mayhem that comes from that. So come with us. We're going to the present time of Nosgoth. I have no idea what's going on there, because I was never taken to the present time but it can't be as bad as this place! So let's get out of here."

"True. It will only be a matter of time before my brother hears us talking and decides to take matters into his own hands." I ran my hands through my hair in nervousness, but I wasn't about to show it to the two girls.

"Ok, well insult me. Not _you_, Ayla. I've heard enough of your sass. Rahab, say something mean about me." Vera pointed a finger at me, her direct attitude making me smile. Honestly, this girl was odd, but I loved every second of trying to figure her out.

I raised an eyebrow at the determined looking girl and her now guilty looking cousin. "Insult you? Why? Looking to bring the ego down a bit?"

"My ego is perfectly fine!" She snapped loudly, glaring angrily as though I'd hit a nerve. Unfortunately, the volume at which she'd yelled at me alerted my horrendous neighbor.

The door to my room was pounded on viciously as Raziel's mocking voice came through, "Brother, are you talking to yourself again or did I just hear the sound of a living breathing human girl talking?"

Oh no. Now she'd done it. "As far as I'm concerned it's none of your business what goes on in my room. You've taken away my only source of entertainment, my books, so I think I should be allowed to do what I wish to do." I snarled through the door, something I knew my brother would not take lightly. He began throwing himself into it, trying to break the lock. I doubted it would last long, especially if he got the rest of my brethren to help him. "You want an insult? You are incredibly and unnecessarily loud. Next time you disagree with something anyone says try to respond like a normal person." I said, oozing attitude with every word. The girl's eyes narrowed angrily at me, her fists closed into fists and glowing red.

"Let's…go." She said talking with her jaw clenched, "I swear the two of you are lucky I'm such a nice person or I'd use these powers for something a lot more intense than just taking you here and there like a glorified bus." I smirked at the sorceress, showing how little I was intimidated by her.

"One question, Rahab…How does your strained relationship with your brother make you feel?" Ayla asked as she pulled out a notebook and pen from her pocket, a spec of curiosity in her now twinkling eyes.

Well, my wish for that one special girl to come into my life was granted…and now I had two. The question was: Would I be able to handle them?


	9. Ayla and Rahab

I don't any LoK stuff! I love all my friends on this site! This is a filler chapter just detailing the relationship between Ayla and Rahab. I'm lazy with my intro, so I'm sorry everyone. Next time I'll list everyone out I just don't consider this a legit chapter!

**Ayla**

"Here we are back at the old – woah." Vera's eyes grew wide as she surveyed the landscape that was apparently the present Nosgoth. It was desolate and dead, nothing compared to the green beauty that was Rahab's time. I didn't like the feeling I was getting from it. Instinctively, I got behind the older vampire who looked surprised and then pleased that I'd chosen him for safety. Vera drew an umbrella out of thin air and quickly opened it and handed it to with her mouth wide open.

I must've been steaming again. The first few seconds I didn't feel anything but I knew from experience how painful it was to be out in the sun without protection. If my cousin hadn't produced the umbrella, I would've been in flames within the next couple of minutes.

"This is what my home becomes, hm? Well, I suppose I'm glad I wasn't there in between those years to be a part of the destruction and watch it get to this point." He said as he surveyed his surroundings.

I liked Rahab. He was nice and looked at me like I was normal again, unlike Vera. I knew my cousin tried her hardest to act like my newly turned self was my old one but it was hard. I didn't blame her for staring a little too long sometimes or not trusting me being too close beside her. After all, I was a monster now.

Vera grimaced at the confident vampire, "About that…Uh, you don't make it up to this point. The way Raz told it, you guys were all vampires, then he grew wings, Kain got jealous, had you guys throw him to the abyss, he came back to life as the blue thingy he is now, and then went on a fratricide spree… Oh and all the brothers mutated into creepy gross looking mutants apparently. You turned into a fish. Come to think of it, I see the resemblance now!" Vera callously spewed the words from her mouth as Rahab's intense blue eyes began swirling in thought and emotion.

He looked upset, confused, and angry all in one. I wanted to reach out to him and let him know we were here for him if he wanted to talk, but I couldn't even squeeze out my usual, 'How does that make you feel?'. Instead, I placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched as I touched him and whirled around to stare at me, on defense.

"I'm sorry…" I said weakly, embarrassed by my gesture which had offended him. Vera looked from him to me and seemed as though she was going to say something rude and most likely blush-inducing, but then closed her mouth and shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too, Rahab. But, hey, you're alive now, right? Let's forget that Raziel hurt you so badly because he's a different person as a wraith. Still a jerk, but a different guy." She shrugged carelessly at the still awestruck Rahab and changed the subject, "Now, where are we gunna go to train?"

The vampire's eyes narrowed as an angry snarl took over his face, "You mean to tell me that my brother who makes me life a living hell gets off free? He gets brought back to life to kill me? And I become a hideous creature incapable of walking on land again before he comes to exact 'revenge'? Even the Gods like Raziel better than they do me! There is no justice in this world!"

Vera looked slightly annoyed as she continued while my heart ached for the poor guy, "Listen, Rahab, I saved you from that. And Raziel saved me from dying. So technically, he saved you from…him killing you. There. All is right with the world again. Now, where're we going to train?"

I expected the vampire to yell or scream at her but his expression became unreadable as his voice stayed flat, "We, as in Ayla and I, are going to go to a cave I should hope will still be in existence west from here. You are free to do whatever you wish until then except come with us. I will not allow her to be tortured anymore with your scent."

Vera glowered at him, sniffing her armpits, then pointing accusingly at him, "I smell like Jasmine so don't you try to pull that crap on me! Ayla, you want me there right?"

She looked at me as if I'd already agreed with her, a proud victorious smile on her face, but for once I couldn't side with my cousin. "Vera, your human scent doesn't come off with deodorant. I would really appreciate it if Rahab could teach me without hearing your heartbeat so loudly in my ears. It'll only be a week, I promise. In fact, I'll try to work so hard it'll be less than that!" Determined, I nodded to Rahab who now wore the proud grin my cousin had previously sported.

"Well fine then! But Raz's gunna be pissed to see me back so soon! I was gunna give him at least another day before finding him again so he could fully realize how much he missed me but I guess that's not gunna happen! Hope you guys are happy being racist and leaving the minority human out of your plans!" She shook her head and stomped off, muttering all the way as we stared after her. I felt bad telling her to leave but I knew for her own safety it was what'd be best.

"Right then," Rahab started slowly turning back to me, "Let's begin."

**Rahab**

We were walking to the cave I'd thought would be the perfect place to train in silence. I had nothing to say and it appeared as though Ayla was scared to say or do anything with me after how I'd reacted to her shoulder touch. I'd felt guilty about drawing myself back after she had touched me but I didn't know how to tell her…No one had ever gotten so close or showed compassion in any physical sense to me before. I hadn't been expecting it. And why had I been so callous to Vera, the one I had feelings for? Didn't I tell myself if I was ever lucky enough to see her again I'd confess my love to her?

_Idiot…_I thought to myself angrily, _Vera is with Raziel. Or whatever form of him you saw taking her away back at the castle a month ago..._ By the gods, it wasn't even fair. I had done nothing wrong in life and yet I was punished while my cretin brother got the girl…and 'revenge' for a crime he deserved to happen to him. My only regret was that Vera could've keep me in my time longer so I could've heard his screams of agony as he was executed before myself and my brethren. If Vera ever thought to bring him near me things would _not_ fare well for the disgusting monster.

"Hey, Rahab, again I'm sorry for the whole Raziel thing…Vera doesn't seem to realize when things tear at emotional wounds for some people…You don't have to tell me or anything but…How does this whole thing make you feel?" Ayla went from deep concern in her eyes to curiosity as she pulled out the notebook and pen from her pocket again.

I was intrigued by her. Someone actually cared what I felt for once. I ignored her odd little journal (After all, I had one as well and had no right to judge by that respect) and thought deeply about how to word this to her. Surprisingly enough, I felt comfortable to share my feelings with this new acquaintance I had met, "It makes me angry as you could plainly see earlier. My brother is a horrible creature. All my life I've been tortured and placed second to him. I just thought that maybe in the end he'd get what he deserved."

She again reached out as if she were going to touch my arm but drew back with a blush, remembering my previous reaction. I quickly started staring straight ahead again, upset with myself for giving her the wrong first impression, "I'm sorry, Rahab. But if Vera is with him it means he must've gone through a change of heart. I can't imagine her being with a guy with one cruel bone in his body. I know that doesn't change your frustration but I think before you attack him right away you should try talking things out with him." Her words made some sense but I refused to listen to them. My brother deserved more pain brought to him whether he'd had a change of heart or not and if fate wasn't going to deliver it to him, I was.

I returned to my silence instead of answering, the only noise behind me the scribbling of the pen on the girl's notebook. The cave was coming up. Although Nosgoth was virtually a dead wasteland I could tell through my senses where it was we were. I often left our sanctuary to wonder around alone, my preference, and the cave had been a solace for me when times were unbearable. I felt no remorse at what my homeland had become, it meant as little to me as the stronghold, filling me with nothing but bitter memories my whole existence.

"Here." I spoke shortly, gesturing to the still in-tact dark and damp dwelling. Ayla eyed it with her mouth open in wonder. Had the girl never seen a cave before? She seemed to view everything as if it was something exciting and new…I stared, puzzled at her until her gaze met mine and we both looked away. "Let's head inside." I motioned her forward so that we were walking beside one another. I did not know if anything living would've stowed away in the darkness but I wasn't about to let her get hurt…It would only lengthen the process of her training.

I was right. As we walked in, the warmth and brightness of a fire took the vampire by surprise. I, however, was grateful that someone had done the dirty work for us. We had a fire now and when the person or people returned from wherever they'd been we'd have a meal.

"What do we do now? This place is obviously inhabited…Do you know any other caves around here we can stay? I don't want to intrude…" The oblivious teen turned creature made me laugh at her politeness, another trait I'd never seen in a vampire.

"We wait. These people are going to be your very first taste of human blood! Some say you're not truly a vampire until you've had it!" I expected her to get excited again like she had been earlier, seeming to view this whole thing as an adventure, but her already pale face blanched and her knees shook so terribly she'd had to sit down. "What's wrong?" I asked, then suddenly became shocked that those words had come from my lips. Did I really care what was wrong with this girl I had just met? The answer was, surprisingly, yes, I did. I went over and sat down beside her, looking her in her hazel eyes which were now brimmed with tears.

"I don't want to do this, Rahab. I don't want to kill people that have families and drink their blood from their lifeless bodies! I'd rather stay with animals…Please. I appreciate you doing this for me and everything but I just can't." The tears fell from her eyes freely now, steam coming from the water that burned her skin as it slid down her cheek. I cupped her face in my hands and wiped them away gently before it could do any deep scorching, then realized what I was doing, and stood up, making distance between us.

"You must stop crying. You don't need tear streaks to be permanent scars on your face." I snapped, still feeling odd after touching her, not used to the soft feeling of a woman, "And about the animals, no. They will not sustain you. They will slowly delay you from becoming a sallow malnourished corpse but it will be inevitable if you continue on that path. Human blood will keep you strong, healthy and living. Don't think about a family our kill might have…After all, every animal has a family, even the rabbits and deer I take you used for food previously. It's all part of the food chain. This is your life now."

She had long since stopped crying to hear me speak. Now she was looking up to me in what looked like admiration and slowly stood up herself, "You…you're right, Rahab. It's what we have to do. Thank you."

I nodded to her, glad she hadn't put up too much of a fight. She was wise enough to know that without the blood of a human she didn't have a chance at survival. Though it might've been hard, the importance of living far outweighed her conscience. I knew she was practical by her journal writing and our brief conversations leading up to now…she was aware what had to be done.

"What the…?" Perfect timing. The cave's host had suddenly appeared in the entrance, carrying extra wood and a skinned animal with him. Upon seeing us, he dropped them and stared in horror. I knew what we must've looked like; hazel and blue eyes glinting off the fire, partially shrouded in darkness and quite obviously not humans. "No…" He whispered to us, "Please, don't…" But before he could finish, my disciple had run at him, fangs exposed. She thrust them into his neck and began sucking quite intensely and quickly until the flailing body became void of life.

She dropped him and turned to me with pain in her eyes as she wiped away the extra blood from her face, "I had to do it fast or else I wouldn't have been able to at all." She explained shakily, staring at the body now on the ground with a quivering lip.

"Excellent. I'm proud of you. Now, if I may quote you, how does it make you feel?" I smirked at the innocent human girl turned coldblooded killer and suddenly felt immensely attracted to her. I wanted to kiss her still blood covered mouth and feel her body against my own in a tight embrace that would never end. She was so genuine, so thoughtful and it appeared that if anything around her was in pain, she was as well. I wanted that personality by my side for eternity.

No…I was to forever care for Vera. Every time I thought of this beautiful vampire form who looked at me with such respect and trust I could only picture the sorceress in my mind. Ayla was my student, nothing more.

"Amazing!" She gushed, interrupting my confused thoughts and suddenly smiling, "Oh, it's like I've just had a huge meal after not eating for weeks on end! I feel this surge of power and emotions and everything's just wonderful!" She spun around with a laugh and got me grinning even wider than I had been before.

"It's only just the beginning." I said with excitement, ready to show my protégé what fun being a creature of the night was.

**Ayla**

"Thanks for treating me like it's ok to be a vampire. Back in New York, everyone would've thought I was some freak…Even Vera looks at me with fear when she sees me come back from a hunt…but you're so accepting." I said softly, staring up into my teacher's face in happiness.

The vampire smiled back at me, his voice relaxed and confident, "Of course I'm accepting; there's nothing wrong with being who you are. Not to mention the fact that I am a vampire as well. That might help a bit as to why I don't treat you like a freak, as you so bluntly put it."

I blushed at my stupidity_, Of course he's accepting, he's a vampire, too,_ I thought with an outward sigh. Why was my brain refusing to function when it mattered? Rahab probably thought I was an idiot…and it would most definitely delay our work together here.

"Right, I forgot." I laughed, trying to play my comment off smoothly but really embarrassed, "So what do you have planned for tonight? Now that the sun's not out, the whole night's ours!" I was hoping (and not hoping) that he was going to say more food, because I was already feeling hungry again. I felt sick to my stomach about killing another person, but the vampire was right; it was the only way to survive. I was going to keep getting blood for myself; I was just going to not think about where it came from.

His grin grew even more until it was haunting and almost evil looking, "More hunting. I'll show you how it's really done."

I shivered at him, suddenly not as excited as I had been previously. Rahab might've been a vampire, but I assumed he was a relatively good guy who, like me, had trouble at first with killing people but then got used to it because it was necessary. I guess I was wrong…I sighed again, but this time in disappointment not frustration. I wanted him to be good. I wanted us to ultimately be considered on the side of the 'good guys' regardless of what we were. He noticed my sadness at once.

"What's wrong? Would you like me to explain the food chain to you again?" He immediately lost all signs of happiness that he'd had before my sigh and asked me in what seemed like a demanding but concerned tone.

I felt bad ruining his fun, but I knew it was something I had to get off my chest, "Well, I just thought that we'd be good people. Not evil like the vampires in the stories…I want to help people and be somewhat redeemed for killing others. And do we really have to kill them? Can't we just drink what we need and let them go?"

Rahab shook his head the whole time I was talking with pursed disapproving lips until it was his turn to counter, "Ayla, understand, there is no 'good' and 'evil.' Everything is a gray scale. Everyone takes what they want and don't care who gets in the way. No one can say they are innocent."

"I am!" I suddenly said loudly as I puffed out my chest, "Don't give up on all mankind or vampire kind or anyone! I'd rather be screwed over thousands and thousands of times waiting for the one person that won't then just give up hope all together!"

I didn't usually feel very strongly about much, I was usually very passive, but the way he saw the world was flawed. Just because he hadn't received any love or compassion from someone didn't mean it didn't exist. My heart ached for him but he needed to realize there was a way to be good.

He was staring at me now with a look in his eyes I couldn't recognize, "You just killed a man, Ayla."

With his words came the invisible punch in the stomach of guilt. I did kill someone. Some just as willing to live as I was…who I was sure deserved it more, too. I swallowed the lump in my throat and ignored my body's urge to cry, refusing to be shaken, "You're right, Rahab. But I refuse to kill another. I'll drink their blood, but it's not right to kill these people. If you're any kind of man you'll agree with me."

I walked closer to him, unable to truly see his expression but only a pale shadow of it produced by the fire. He still looked at me with the strange stare, but he showed no signs of being affected by my words.

"As compelling as your speech is," He started darkly, shifting away from me and back into the shadows, "I'm no longer a man."

I threw my hands in the air in exasperation, "Oh, but Rahab, don't you see? It's not too late to change! You're a great guy! I know you are. You wouldn't be helping me right now if you weren't." Ignoring my instincts and slight shyness, I reached into the darkness and took his hands in mine, refusing to look anywhere but in his eyes. "I believe in you." The words were so full of emotion it surprised even me. He reached up slowly and stroked my face.

"No one has ever told me that before. You…are one of a kind." He breathed, staring at me as if I were a rare and priceless artifact, "Beauitful inside and out."

If my heart was still pulsing, I'm sure it would've skipped a beat. The connection between the two of us was strong and powerful and I knew suddenly why it was so hard to talk to the older vampire…I really liked him. A lot. So I told him.

"I like you…a lot." I said slowly and realized with disappointment that it sounded a lot less stupid in my head than on my tongue. I wasn't used to feeling this way about a guy before. Vera often made jokes in high school about how a lot of my guy friends were trying to be more than that, but I'd always thought she was kidding. I was so busy with the track team and friends and family the thought never occurred to me that I wanted or needed a boyfriend. Plus, no guy had ever made me feel the way Rahab did now. I was usually so in control but with him, I was a mess. Was this what love at first sight was?

He smiled and leaned his already close body closer as he pressed his lips to mine.

The cold kiss gave me a jolt of excitement and feeling as my insides began heating up. I ran my hands up and down his cool arms and he shivered in excitement, kissing me harder as his hands wove through my hair. I felt like there was a fire burning not only in the cave but in my heart.

No sooner had it started however, that he had pulled away with a gasp of, "The sorceress!"

"What?" I asked puzzled, still flushed from our wonderful kiss, "Oh, Vera? She'll be fine with us together, don't worry. In fact, I think she already could tell something was going on. Or maybe not; she's very oblivious, but still! She'll be happy as long as I'm happy!" I went to take his hands again but he jumped back with a terrified and confused look on his face.

"I shouldn't have done that. No. I'm destined to belong to…I'd wait forever to be with…No."

And with those random mutterings he left the cave for the night.


	10. Where does everyone go from here?

Hello, all! Exciting news! This is the third to last installment of the story! Which means two more chapters and it's done! We laughed, we cried we…learned? I don't know. I hope you all enjoyed it and continue to as it's almost done!

Ok, so I don't own any of the LoK characters and blah blah blah! This story is my own so I KNOW THE REAL ONE.

A huge shout out the following people – Soultail Omega-Light, Littlevamp, lady of the wilds, Grizz and soulhunting shewolf! MorgannaVenus Persephone, thank you for all you do! You're like a sister to me! =) They are my closest friends on this site and I'm soo happy to have met them! Please check out their work as well because it is loads better than mine! And take a look at Voyseys's stuff, too! She and her stories rock! Also, my good friend BuritsuFemShep is currently turning this into a comic with her awesome drawing skills! Check out her stuff at deviant art! Her name there is entertheburitsu !

**Vera**

"Oh, I'm Rahab! I like to discriminate against awesome humans named Vera!" I mumbled to myself alone angrily in an exaggeratedly deep voice, then made it higher as I attempted to mock my cousin, "And I'm Ayla! I listen to whatever people say because I'm a pushover who doesn't want to start a fight!"

I would've made a way better vampire than her! At least I had a backbone… I huffed to myself feeling particularly crappy. It felt like no one wanted me in their life. Ayla, Rahab, Raziel; they'd all just dropped me when they didn't need me anymore. I was all alone now. Wait. Crap! I WAS all alone now! In Nosgoth! And we all know how well it turned out the first time I was left out on my own in the wild.

I turned around to see how far I'd walked since Rahab and Ayla had ditched me. It was quite a while. I was lost and had no sense of direction whatsoever. Great.

As if on cue, I heard a slight rustle in the empty and open group of dead trees around me and grimaced. Being intensely any kind of strong emotion got my powers to come out, didn't it? Well, in the past intense fear hadn't gotten me anything but a pair of pants full of pee…

"So, he finally left you alone." I heard from one of the nearby trees. What was this, the Wizard of Oz? Were talking trees common in the future of Nosgoth? The voice sounded familiar but still, I was positive it was coming from the actual dead shrub to my right.

"Just so you know, I don't have a fireplace or use trees for anything other than paper! And I hate to write so even that…"

"Enough of your prattling." Kain, or what I could only guess was Kain appeared from behind what I thought was the enchanted tree. That was why the voice sounded familiar. I had heard it back at the Sarafan stronghold but my eyes had been too tear-filled to actually see him.

He was old and wrinkly like a raisin. Ew. No wonder he was jealous of what Raziel was as a vampire! His coloring was weird, too, almost like a pale Vorador. What was with all these crazy colored people in Nosgoth? Why couldn't I've been born purple or something?

I felt gipped at the injustice of it and all around annoyed at the vampire who'd been trying to freak me out, "What do YOU want, Kain? Wanna tattle on me to Raziel again?" I snapped as I remembered when Raziel had thought I wasn't on his side because of Kain's manipulation. He'd made it seem like because Moe was my dad I was part of his evil army and I was just using Raz the whole time!

He smirked confidently as he stared down at me, ignoring my attitude, "I'm here to kill you."

My blood ran cold in my body. There was no way to escape the situation I was in. This guy was a vampire, which meant he was fast - way faster than me – and he had a giant sword when I had…nothing.

Raziel wasn't here to save me. My powers were failing to work. I was screwed. Well, as long as I went down with a fight I could be proud of myself. Not like stupid Bella from Twilight who hit her head on a rock and passed out in the second movie. Though to be fair, all I was really paying attention to in that movie was Taylor Lautner's abs…Those were pretty awesome.

"I don't understand where your confidence comes, spawn of Moebius. You stare off into the distance without fear in your eyes. I can fix that." The wrinkly vampire ran at me with his sword, swishing it sideways. I darted right, a little taken aback by his quickness. I knew he was fast but jeez, I almost broke a sweat just avoiding him. At least I knew I was faster though!

I felt something weird and looked down, noticing that my Fall Out Boy shirt now had a giant rip in it…But how was that possible, seeing as how it was form fitted to me…? Oh. The rest of the shirt was slowly turning red with blood and I now felt the intense pain that accompanied the massive amount of red. I fell to my knees as I gripped my warm and wet stomach, gasping for the air that seemed to not be coming at all.

"Enjoy death and take solace in the fact that as long as you die, Raziel and I will be safe." Kain's whole tone was mocking and insincere in nature, but I couldn't bring myself to respond. I couldn't bring myself to do anything other than sit on the ground in shock as the world from under me faded from existence.

I gritted my teeth from the pain as I squeezed out the last sentence I would ever utter on this planet, "Raziel, I'll always love you."

**Raziel**

"Ve…Vera…" I muttered to myself, my weakness making my head spin as I fell to the ground and on my knees. I had done much since the girl had left my side but thought of her every second. I had previously obtained the Heart of Darkness from Kain and put it inside Janos who awoke again only this time, he became possessed. In my moment's hesitation to kill him, he hit me, sending me back here. I'd been trapped here for some time, deprived of souls and weak.

The booming voice of my captor came from everywhere and nowhere at once as he responded contemptuously, "Raziel, my reaper of souls, get your mind off of your dead lover and move on. It will not get you sustenance to sit around and think about a girl who long since forgot about you. Work for me and I shall keep you strong again."

Dead? What could he mean by that? My Vera couldn't possibly have been killed in the safety of her own world…No, what I did was for the best for the both of us. Even though my weeks of solitary confinement and no souls to feed upon drained me, I felt comforted to know that I had freed Vera from the corruption and death Nosgoth had to offer her. I just wished I could've seen her face one last time…

"I refuse to ever become your slave again." I said with conviction, then grew louder in anger as I continued, "And do not try to deceive me with false news about Vera. You and I both know Moebius would never allow her to die."

He countered quickly, not allowing a moment's silence, "You had her sent to her previous home. Do you know what the time difference is, Raziel? One week here in Nosgoth is twenty years there. She is dead. Moebius knew the seal could never break as long as she stayed out of Nosgoth so we had you recaptured and let her go as a failed experiment. Let her out of your memory as she did you years ago."

No…It couldn't be! I refused to believe it! Why had I not taken into account the possibility of time differences?

I was bitter as I thought about the life she most likely had with another man who could kiss her or hold her or have children with her… I wanted proof. I wouldn't believe anything this false god told me unless I could see it with my own eyes.

As if my thoughts were projected on a screen in front of me, a spirit like see-through version of Vera appeared. I peered closer and saw that her mouth and stomach dripping with…was that blood? She was shakily gripping her stomach with one hand to the ground, on her knees. I stared in horror as this tortured Vera, with much effort, addressed me, "Raziel, I'll always love you." She said before sputtering and coughing up more blood. She fell to the ground, dead.

I was in silent shock before I snapped out of it and shouted, "What mockery is this? Do not show me these images! They do nothing but disprove your former lie of her death at an old age!" I myself was shaken up by the scene I had just witnessed but it couldn't be real. The Elder God did much to confuse me and throw me off. No, I refused to believe it.

For once, my captor was silent. His many eyes seemed to be staring off into something that wasn't myself and his tentacles blocking my escape seemed not as tightly woven together as they were before. Now was my chance. I moved them away quickly and forcefully before making my way back to the material realm.

**Rahab**

"Please, Rahab! Don't put me through this. I know what we did was right and I want to be with you!" Ayla hurled herself at me as soon as I returned from my 24 hours of solitude.

I had found a place to stay after I had fed the night I stormed out. I tried to sleep as the next day went by but I could do nothing of the sort. I returned as soon as the sun set back to the training cave.

As the fledgling tightened her grip, I took comfort in her arms around me, but made no show of it, pushing her back lightly and refusing to look at her face, "I suppose I should take you out to hunt. You've got to be getting hungry again." I said flatly, unsure of the emotion I was feeling at the moment.

I had left the cave to try and find answers for myself but all I found were more questions. The feelings I felt for Ayla were strong, yes, but Vera…Vera was everything. She was who I thought of to stay sane the month she had left while my brothers tore apart my room as punishment for protecting her. She was who I wrote about in my journal. She was who I dreamed about when I slept day after day.

And she was taken. By my brother, of all people. I hated him and I almost hated her for falling in love with him. But something held me back. I couldn't hate the girl I thought so fondly of. All I could do was yearn and wish for her to see the error of her ways. But why do that when I had a beautiful and kind hearted woman fawning over me and saying she wanted to be with me? It was too much to consider.

Ayla looked close to tears, sitting down on the cold earthy ground by the fire surprisingly still burning, though weak, "I've felt sick since you left so no…and yes. I always feel the hunger but I feel like if I eat, I won't be able to hold it down! Oh, Rahab, please let's talk about what happened!"

I felt a pang of guilt for putting the young vampire through all of this, especially at such a new and confusing time in her life, but I couldn't help it, "Let's get you out to hunt and then we can come back and talk about it." I reluctantly let out. Why was I so patient with her? There was something between us, I couldn't deny it, and it was making me actually care about how I came across.

"Al…Alright." She sniffled a little and got up slowly, the pleading look still in her eyes.

It felt odd to have a woman want me. No one had ever acted as Ayla had just now. I had women flirt and show interest but never had they shown such intense devotion in their eyes as this one did. I felt confident when I was around her, confident and comforted, whereas with Vera I was a wreck inside.

We headed outside the cave and out into the night, where the bright moon of Nosgoth made the whole land still see-able. In my time, it looked beautiful but here, in this hideous future, it looked ominous. I felt as though some evil force was going to come out and demand a fight from us. With Ayla being a fledging (notoriously stronger than a regular vampire; the first few weeks of being turned were when a vampire was at its most powerful) and my sheer cunning and strength, I knew we'd be able to take whatever it was, but the feeling still made me on defense.

Ironically, a disgusting blue monster appeared before us, with a glowing sword for a right arm. He looked at me with bright white eyes which then grew in disbelief. It was my brother. Or whatever thing he'd turned into.

"Had Moebius put me in the right time? The landscape appeared to be correct but Rahab, who should long be deceased…" My brother had started a monologue to himself but I couldn't contain my anger. I ran at him and brought him down to the ground as his sword arm dissipated. He kept staring at me with shock and disbelief, holding me back instead of trying to fight me. Somehow, that made me more angry.

"I'll kill you!" I snarled, baring my teeth.

"Rahab, stop! Vera told me about him! That's Raziel! Or…you know that, don't you? That's why you're fighting him? There's no need for violence! Just tell him how everything makes you feel and things willl turn out ok!" I heard Ayla from behind me but I couldn't listen. My eyes were burning into my brother's as I tried to move my arms but couldn't; his claws were wrapped around my wrists. As soon as he heard the sorceress' name, though, he threw me off and jumped up, running toward Ayla and grabbing and shaking her shoulders.

"Who are you? How do you know Vera? Where is she?" He yelled interrogatingly at the girl. I felt my anger flare up as he touched what wasn't his.

"Don't put a hand on her, Raziel!" I rose from the ground that he had embarrassingly knocked me to and yanked the vampire away from his claws. She looked up at me with a grateful expression. Regardless of Vera's warnings of how my brother looked, I'm sure it was still a shock to see it in person let alone have him touch her.

"I'm Ayla…Vera's cousin. I'm not sure where she is. She took me and Rahab here and then left because we didn't want her in danger with me being a new vampire." She blushed, unable to look at him and again I became angered that the creature took such a tone with my…student.

"You what?" Raziel almost charged her a second time but I pushed her behind me and growled at him. He glowered back but didn't advance any further, "Do you realize you sent her out in a world where several things could kill her and several people want her dead? Her powers barely work because of her seal! She can't even defend herself!"

I felt my stomach tighten. Had I really done such a thing? I had no idea the girl's powers were so weak…I hated myself for my stupidity and even more when I saw Ayla's terrified expression.

"Is that why when she made a mini tub of blood for me back home she passed out and slept for a whole day?" She asked weakly but even I knew the answer to that question.

I shook my head, amazed at the sorceress' lack of knowledge of her own magic. Why did I leave her alone out here? "Things like blood in the world of magic have to come from somewhere. When a magical person uses their powers for such things, it is assumed that they know the rules. The blood was drawn from said magical body. Whatever Vera gave you was her own." I said with a monotone as the vampire paled to an even lighter color than she was originally. She covered her mouth with her hands in horror, but I was too worried about the sorceress to comfort her, "We've got to go looking for her."

Raziel nodded, but he seemed as though he'd already lost hope. He was hiding something, I could tell. Still, I refused to think about it and resolved that even if it took days months or years, I would never give up searching.

Little did I know it would take a lot less time than that to find her.


	11. Sidero means Evil Nymph and she is EVIL!

**Hello, all! Exciting news! This is the second to last installment of the story! Which means one more chapter and it's done! We laughed, we cried we…learned? I don't know. xD I hope you all enjoyed it and continue to as it's almost done!**

**Ok, so I don't own any of the LoK characters and blah blah blah! This story is my own so I KNOW THE REAL ONE.**

**A huge shout out the following people – Soultail Omega-Light, Littlevamp, lady of the wilds, Grizz and soulhunting shewolf! MorgannaVenus Persephone, thank you for all you do! You're like a sister to me! =) They are my closest friends on this site and I'm soo happy to have met them! Please check out their work as well because it is loads better than mine! And take a look at Voyseys's stuff, too! She and her stories rock! Also, my good friend BuritsuFemShep is currently turning this into a comic with her awesome drawing skills! Check out her stuff at deviant art! Her name there is entertheburitsu ! **

**Kain**

I smiled to myself and relief and pride. It was over. I'd saved Nosgoth and myself from certain destruction. Killing Moebius' daughter was far too easy for my liking, though I knew she was gone because I'd watched her eyes dim and become void of life.

"Too easy…" I muttered, a nagging feeling of uneasiness making me want to turn back around and inspect the unmoving corpse again.

As expected, it hadn't changed in any way. I shook my head with a laugh. How foolish of me to think she was more powerful than I was. I'd taken her down in seconds.

I resolved to cut out the heart of the girl to ease my mind.

After rolling her over so that she was on her back, I raised the Soul Reaver over my head. As I brought it down, her eyes shot open. She grabbed the sword as it was inches away from her chest. The girl's hands dripped blood as she clutched the Reaver, laughing maniacally.

I jumped back in shock, trying to yank my weapon away from her, but she wouldn't let go. Instead, she got to her feet slowly, still laughing and boring her eyes into mine. There was something different about her than before. Her hands, though still bleeding, were glowing a teal blue and her eyes, which were now a deep purple, were glowing as well. She seemed to hold herself with more confidence and I could now sense the power radiating from her.

"Not so tough without this, are you Kain? If you wanted me dead you should've given me more than just a scratch." She let go of the sword with one hand and lifted her shirt with a mocking smirk where it was ripped from my previously thought to be death dealing blow. There was nothing there, "Think that's a good trick? Watch this." She grinned confidently and yanked the Soul Reaver from my tight grasp with one handed ease, turning it around so she was now holding the hilt with both hands again. The girl exposed a bloody palm to me which was spurting and deeply gashed. In seconds, I watched it close itself up. She healed faster than a vampire. "If I were you, I'd run, Kain. You may not be my main priority at the moment…the wraith holds that honor. But that doesn't mean I won't kill you now because as much as I love a good game of hide and seek, I have my orders from my master and my father to take you out as well." She began contemplating, "Well, because I know it won't take long and I have some mercy, I'll give you time to hide when I go after Raziel. Then you better put up a good fight when I find you again."

I ran as fast as I could away from the child, knowing full well I could not take her by myself. I hated to say it, but I would need the help of Raziel.

**Raziel**

"So, brother, how does it feel to no longer be the pretty boy? I think this form better suits your personality; Ugly and morbid." Rahab, my annoyingly alive brother sneered at me, though I could see in his eyes fear and the losing of hope.

I was filled with anger, not only at my brothers' snide remarks but at the concern and love I knew he had for Vera. However, I held my tongue with difficulty and continued to walk with him and Ayla in the semi-darkness; hoping for a sign of my love.

"Oh, Rahab! I'm glad you're finally using my method to try to talk things out with your brother. I'm so proud!" The innocent vampire could not sense my younger brother's malice as she hugged his arm with a smile. He looked surprised and down at her, before an expression of shyness and pleasure came over him, then he seemed to realize his face was giving away his feelings and went back to his smirk at me.

I could not understand Vera's cousin's attraction to him. It was clear she was intensely infatuated and did not appear to notice his interest in Vera whatsoever.

I did not let these insignificant judgments to invade my thoughts too heavily, though. Always in my mind was the vision of the teenage girl who had accompanied me through so much dead and bleeding on the ground.

Rahab hissed a little in the silence before addressing no one in particular, "We are heading toward Moebius' castle. I suggest we go around it. I do not particularly care to see that horrendous looking man in my lifetime again. He's almost as vomit inducing as you, brother."

A thought suddenly occurred to me. If Vera had been killed, who better to know than her creator? We had to interrogate the snake of a man, "Rahab, if you are the man of intellect you claim yourself to be, surely you know that where ever Moebius is, there is always some kind of trouble. We're going there."

My brother raised an eyebrow at my slight jab, "You want to know why I was and am the intellect, brother? Because I read and did things of meaning in my life instead of pleasuring myself with succubae," Here he shrugged cooling down a bit to make one last insult, "Well, I suppose I shouldn't judge. Simple minded enjoy the simple life."

I shook with anger and almost tackled him again but I knew it would amount to nothing. When…if…I had Vera back, I would make him suffer. I took pleasure in the uneasy look on his face as we got closer and closer to the residence of the Time Streamer. I didn't blame him. Moebius was a sworn enemy to vampires, known to get mobs together and find new ways to torture and kill the immortal beasts. Without his other brothers and master by his side, Rahab was defenseless and could easily be taken down.

I watched him in confusion as he pushed Ayla behind him protectively and tightened his grip on her arm. He appeared to be torn between two Shards when it came to who he loved, but if he knew what was good for him, he'd stick with the vampire.

The doors were unlocked as if we were expected and we slowly walked in. It was silent. Candles lit the room and adjoining hall. I nodded to the two that we were to continue on down the hall. I knew where I wanted to be and started running now, ignoring Rahab's protests and Ayla's heavy, scared (and unnecessary) breathing.

The courtyard. After passing several doors, I flung myself into the one I knew would lead out into the open square surrounded by the rest of the home.

Instantly, I recognized the robe and staff of the man I hated beyond all capacity. He was turned around and enjoying hushed conversation with someone who appeared to be glowing a teal color. No matter; he was the only one I was interested in.

"Your time is up, old man!" I shouted as he faced me with a confident smile, "What have you done with Vera? Give her to me at once!" Ayla and Rahab nodded, stepping forward, though I could tell my brother hated that I was again the leader of the pack. His glare alternated between myself and the Elder God's minion.

After a small laugh, the man spoke, "Oh, Raziel, my poor boy, Vera is dead. You must've seen her in the spectral realm! Kain delivered her to the end of her journey with the Soul Reaver!"

No. I couldn't be hearing things right. Vera…gone forever? How could I live with myself for leaving her and leading her to her death? It was Moebius' fault. It was Rahab's fault. I would kill them both; right here, right now! I drew out my piece of the Soul Reaver and charged the old man, raising it over my head with conviction and uncontrollable rage and…bought it down on nothing. It was as if an invisible force field was protecting him. I slammed myself against it, but it refused to budge.

"What is this trickery? The bulk of your power lay in your words! You are incapable of this level of magic, coward!" I yelled this as I tried to stab the Reaver into the invisible wall, still seemingly not affected at all. How was he doing this?

"How is he doing it, right, Raziel? Is that what you want to know?" The glowing figure previously hidden by Moebius stepped out and into the fray.

If I had a heart, it would've lept to my throat. My Vera was still alive. I felt it strange that I had failed to sense her presence, but I was too exuberant to care. I ran to her, ready to embrace the only person who had ever meant anything to me but again I was prevented to because of a force field.

"Vera, I'll get you out. Don't worry. I'll kill Mobius. We can go back to the way things were. I'll never leave you again." I placed my claws against the wall, and she reciprocated, until a dark grin appeared on her face and she began giggling. Something was wrong.

The force field immediately fell and she grabbed hold of my wrists tightly. Her hands lit with giant yellow flames and I began to feel an intense pain where she grabbed them. I was bought down to my knees in agony. I looked to her eyes in hurt and confusion and saw a swirling purple instead of the usual curious blue. Her feet began to lift from the air as she floated with the power now erupting through her vains. I knew what had happened.

"My father was right, wraith. That idiot Vera is dead. Call me Sidero. This is who I really am and have always been. And now that we've officially met, I'm going to kill you."

My soul broke as I looked up into the face I had loved which was now twisted with evil. I did not try to stop her when she clamped down with her left hand and rose her right, now erupting in purple flames. She was going to kill me without batting an eyelash because she wasn't Vera. I couldn't bear to live in a world where that angelic face was killing people under her father's rule.

"Now wait just a minute, glowing Vera. As much as I love to see my brother in pain, you have to wait in line if you want to kill him. I claimed that spot hundreds of years ago." Rahab had used his stealth to take the girl by surprise. He now held her arm that she had planned on bringing down on me. She snarled and hurled him off, momentarily loosening her grip on my wrist. He went flying, landing about ten feet away and I jumped backwards, in fighting position even though I knew full well I wouldn't be able to touch a hair on her head.

"You're not Vera! My cousin would never even hurt a fly! You bring her back right now!" Ayla, not fully understanding the situation, hurled herself at Sidero, claws extended and teeth bared and was able to take the sorceress down. She was a fledgling, meaning she was more powerful than my brother, but still no match for the magical girl.

"You bitch!" Screamed the Time Streamer's daughter, touching a finger to her face where there was a small gash that instantly healed, "You cut me with your mangy nails! You'll pay for that!" Now, both of her hands glowed green as she blasted her power at the vampire. Luckily, the fledgling had rolled out of the way quick enough for the magic to have missed, blowing a massive hole in the ground.

"Raziel! Do something! We can't take her alone! Make yourself useful for once!" Rahab snarled, slowly standing up and relocating his shoulder blade with a wince. He was right. They would be no match for her. And I doubted I would be either, but I couldn't try.

"I can't…" I muttered, defeated. I couldn't lay a hand on the body that had been with me through so much…We would all perish under her hand.

"Are you still in love with me?" The sorceress openly laughed in my face, causing me to cringe in emotional anguish, "Do you know why that dumb girl chose to hang about you in the first place? Protection. God only knows why she stayed after. I'll give it to her; We're pretty – a little on the plain and thin side – but pretty nonetheless. She deserved better than you! I can't believe she used my body to touch you! The nerve!" A curl of disgust came over Ve…Sidero's face as I looked down at my hideous form. Vera was the only one who looked at me as if I was normal and she was gone. For the rest of my presumably short life I was alone. I didn't want to fight. I didn't want to hurt this woman who shared the face of a girl I would never be with again. I wanted to give up; to die.

"My brother may be disturbingly horrendous inside and out, but you have to be the most nauseating creature personality-wise it almost makes me gag to think about what you would look like if you weren't leeching off Vera's good looks." Rahab smiled again and eyed the sorceress with no fear, walking over to wrap his arms around the shaking Ayla.

"Oh, you'll pay for that, lesser of Kain's lieutenants! You know, I'm surprised you can even stand to insult me given what Vera means to you. Did you tell your little protégé there why you won't devote yourself to her?" The girl nodded her head to Ayla, who, with a confused expression, looked to Rahab for an answer.

My brother however, refused to let her continue, "That is none of your business!" He ran at her with a roar while she stood unnerved. As soon as he got close enough, she kicked him in the stomach with her glowing red leg and as he flew backwards, he caught on fire as well.

"No!" Ayla screamed as if she had been the one hit and ran for my brother. He was rolling on the ground in an effort to put himself out, but it was clear magical flames weren't the same as regular. "Stop it!" She yelled as tears ran down her face and burned her cheeks. Her anguish made Sidero laugh, and as soon as she snapped her fingers, the flames dispersed.

"Listen you two; my orders from dear old dad over there are to kill Raziel. You two can go about your merry way doing whatever the hell you want. I really don't care." The nymph crossed her arms over her chest in disinterest toward the couple and smiled proudly to her father who clapped and grinned back.

"Please, after what you've done to me and Ayla, I'm itching to take you down a peg." My brother could not lift himself from the ground, as his burns were too great but he still tried to maintain his confident voice even though there was pain going through it.

I had no clue what to do. I did not want to attack Moebius' daughter but I couldn't allow Vera's cousin or my brother to be wrapped up in this, "Rahab, take Ayla and get out of here. Let me end this now."

"Oh, come now, Raziel. You can't be that much of an idiot! Let us help you; you can't take her on by yourself!" Rahab's wounds were slowly healing but he was clearly still in pain. He took Ayla's extended hand and slowly stood up.

"You don't want Ayla dead, do you? Because that's what you'll both be if you don't leave! Get out of here!" I snarled, bringing the Reaver out again. My brother took one look at Ayla and sighed in defeat, not wanting to lose her. He nodded and though the female vampire was protesting, by now he had healed enough to pull her along against her will.

"We'll be back! I promise!" She squeaked on her way through the door out of the courtyard. It slammed closed and just like that, we were alone.

"Give up, Raziel. My lovely daughter was produced to be your destroyer. She is significantly more powerful than you! Just make this easier on all of us!" Moebius' chuckled to me from his cowardly corner of the enclosure but stopped when Sidero's purple eyes narrowed and her head whipped in his direction.

"Don't tell him that, father!" She snapped, now looking to me with a confident stretching grin, "I love a good struggle."

I raised the Reaver in the air and charged her, "And that's what you'll get."


End file.
